Customer Reviews

Rick Steves' Europe 101: History and Art for the Traveler (6th Edition)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a first-time traveler to Italy, it was important to me to find information that to make this trip even more meaningful. I found it in this book. Wish I had this as my textbook for both European History and Humanities.

This book allowed me to fully comprehend, appreciate and wonder at the significance of the architectural, engineering, cultural and art contributions of Europe to the world. Even my sister who is a seasoned traveler to Europe found this book thoroughly educational as well as entertaining.

BRAVO! I will go to Europe again next year, and will take Rick's book on the best Europe has to offer.

Thank you.

This book is not an in-depth history lesson, thank God. That would be boring. Instead, it's a very readable, lively short coverage of how Europe got to where it is today. If you're going to Europe to see a whirlwind of cities and museums, then reading this book will help you understand how and why something ended up in the museum or was built to look that way. I used to think art galleries in Europe were like visits to the dentist, necessary but painful. After reading 101, I have a much better understanding of the paintings and can trace the development and subject matter, making it fun and informative.

Also, the book has the best descriptive chart of history I have ever seen, laying out the different architecture periods (so you can see what came when) along with who lived when (Michaelangelo, Bach, Mozart, etc.) and other important historical events. This alone really helped me sort out the big jumbled mess of history.

If you're looking for in-depth, detailed coverage, this is not the book for you. If you're looking for that historical overview to help put everything in perspective without having to dig through volumes of dry material, then this is what you've been hoping for.

Good travels!

I was very impressed by this book. It was well organized as it wove basic history into a discussion of major works of art and major tourist sights. It was interesting to learn how art evolved over hundreds of years, and how it changed as Europe changed. I particularly appreciated how the book did not assume a great deal of familiarity with the subject matter, yet never talked down to the reader. Most college-educated readers will find it to be just right. I wish I had read this book before my very first trip to Europe. I expect my next trip will be much more meaningful now that I will be able to put everything in context.

A simple and enjoyable book that fills in the cracks from various history and art appreciation classes. Within a couple of hours, readers can have a good, basic grasp of the most important "who" and "whats" of European history - but particularly the "whys". I repeatedly found myself saying, "Oh, now I get it! So that's what the Renaissance (or the "Dark Ages" or whatever) is and why the art and architecture they created looks as it does." Truly a must read for both first-timers and seasoned travellers who just want to brush up on some of the facts and trends. Absolutely required for anyone travelling to Italy.

Let's not even pretend this is a comprehensive book on European history, because I'm sure that wasn't its intention. It IS wonderfully entertaining reading to take along on a trip to Europe. Its light, humorous and informative style was exactly what my teenage daughters needed to enjoy and appreciate the museums and historical places in Europe. I tore out sections and read it to them on the train before arriving at destinations. By putting historic thought and events into a context they could relate to, it got them interested in art and history and made them curious to learn more. I highly recommend this as a travel aid for families or anyone needing an enjoyable brush-up on historic styles and periods.

If you forget your european history from college (or just wasn't paying attention in class), this book really helps bring your european destination to life. I think the difference between reading this book and then going on vacation versus going on vacation without the book is like looking at someone's photo album filled with people you've heard stories about or shared experiences with or looking at an album full of people you don't know and don't care about. I highly recommend reading it.

Many reviewers on Amazon conveniently forget the targeted audience when criticizing a book, whatever be the subject. Most of the time, they are more interested in showing off their specialized knowledge or pushing their unrelated agenda.

Majority of seasonal travellers are interested in getting a welcome annual but temporary relief from their daily chores and pressures of life. They are not going to pour over voluminous specialist material just for that. At the same time wandering through the old museums and galleries is definitely going to be boring if one doesn't have some essential background information on what is being exhibited; especially so, when these places are crowded and noisy.

This book is intended for such travellers and not for specialists. The authors have every right to be opinionated as this book is an off-shoot of their tour operations which started at a very humble level. Growth of their organization owes much to word-of-the-mouth publicity by satisfied customers.

And Rick is no armchair Marco Polo. At a very young age he set out to explore the world and has visited many countries outside Europe. Those were the days when people like me wouldn't like to venture out of town. Nobody will believe that it all started with just a backpack. So he and his partner have every right to portray the world as they saw it. Many of his tours are through locations usually shunned by the big names in travel industry.

So asking him to comform to the regular guys in travel, history or art is preposterous.

If the entire book had been written like the first half I'd have given this book 5 stars without hesitation. Unfortunately, as others have observed, when he got to the Modern World Rick blew it.

The book is subtitled "History and Art for the Traveler." For the first 2/3rds or so of the book Rick stuck to the subject and the information was great. A wonderful overview of the early history of Europe and the evolution of art and architecture from ancient Egypt up until WWI. You don't get a lot of details, but as an overview it is well-written and fascinating. Just the sort of background that a traveller needs to really appreciate what he is seeing.

Once he got past WWI, though, it seems that Rick just couldn't stop himself from tossing in his personal political observations. Of course, politics and history are closely tied, so some political information is useful and necessary to understanding history. Good historians always include some political information. Sadly, Rick does not provide us with some political information. What he does is infuse all too many passages with his personal politics. At one point he includes a several-pages long dissertation that is nothing but a political rant--completely out of place in a book that is SUPPOSED to be about history and art for the traveller!

My other complaint about the book is that in some ways he is a bit of an art snob. He basically says that you don't have a right to criticize art if you don't understand it. He offers an analogy, saying that you can't appreciate the beauty of a '56 Chevy if you don't know a Volvo from an Edsel. I'm sorry, but that is simply not true. It is quite easy to have a deep appreciation for a '56 Chevy without know anything about Volvos or Edsels, or any other cars for that matter!

If no other car had ever existed, the '56 Chevy Belair would still be a thing of beauty. And you most certainly don't need to know anything about engines or transmissions to see that.

Having offered my complaints, I still give it three stars, because there is still a lot of useful information here. I would read up until the section on the Modern World. From there, skip to the description of Britain. Then read the section on art appreciation.

Even with its short-comings I think this book is worth the cover price. It's a good book. If Rick had stuck to the subject it would have been a great book.

Normally I'm a big fan of Rick Steves' works, but this is probably the weak link in the series. It is well written and very funny in parts as it roars through all of Western Civilization at supersonic speeds. My idea of preparing for a vacation is to read 20-30 books regarding the history, art, and literature of my vacation destination. In a way, it prolongs the pleasure of the trip.

At the same time, I am aware that even a greater percentage of travelers are purely experiential: They like to plop themselves into the middle of a foreign culture and just wonder as they wander. For this type of traveler, EUROPE 101 is ideal: It gives you the bare essentials so that you don't come across like a total yahoo. If you are this type of traveller, then the book gets five stars.

What a fabulous preview to our trip... I never thought I'd say this, but I can't WAIT to spend time in the museums in Europe!! We will be in Spain, France and Italy... and you can bet the history and museums will be at the top of our list.

Rick's writing style is superb and humor much appreciated!