Customer Reviews

Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There are a only a handful of comprehensive works on Sicilian history, and most of them suffer the same disorder as the present work: they are far too general to provide the reader with even a casual glimpse of Sicily's rich and diverse history.

The island and its people have been frequent topics of good writers (Sciascia, Verga) and bad writers both. It seems approachable only in fragmented form: a volume or two on the Normans, a brief history of Magna Grecia, a tour through the peasant villages of the late 1800s, and the inevitable works on mafiosi. In all such cases, however, one is able to take any and all final assessments with a grain of salt. Not so in a comprehensive work, which for its part must say something "final and true" about Sicily for the sake of the book jacket and the casual reader. Such pithy truths are nearly always off the mark, and those found in this work are no exception.

The aforementioned issues, coupled with the dry writing style, makes for poor reading. One might as well pick up the DK Guide to Sicily, as it will provide you with the same depth of understanding, or lack thereof, provided in this book.

Those looking for more information about ancient Sicily might consider M.I. Finley's History of Sicily. If you'd like to understand Sicily's role in the fates of the Greco-Roman world, you might pick up Donald Kagan's History of the Peloponnesian War and Polybius' histories on the Punic wars. For those interested in the rich tapestry that is medieval Sicily (From Arab to Norman to Spanish rule), there is Norwich's The Normans In Sicily (a rather huge tome, but a great one.) And if you are simply interested in reading 19th to 20th century vignettes on Sicilian life and culture, then there are a number of novels by Sciascia, a handful of journals by Italian-American ladies who've come back to roost, and, of course, books on the Mafia disguised as books on Sicily (Norman Lewis, Peter Robb, and, in fiction, Mario Puzo.) These should tie you over.

This book is valuable because it covers a lot of territory and has a number of strengths, but it also has many weaknesses. The author does not seem to have a firm grasp of Sicily's Greek history and, even worse, seems to be lost when it comes to the Romen period. She even says something to the effect that "nothing much happened" in Sicily during the Roman Empire once Augustus won the civil war. She also misunderstands Frederick II, Sicily's most reknowned ruler, considered to be the greatest king of the Middle Ages. She is on firmer ground when covering the periods of French and Spanish domination and the Bourbon court in Naples. Her account of the creation of modern Italy (& its incorporation of Sicily) is excellent. As for modern Sicily, she provides a good account of the Mafia and of politics, but little else. There is very little relating to cultural subjects, e.g., food, folk arts, literature. Most of the book relates to politics and to large-scale economic issues.

Not a bad summary of the sicilian history but the book is poorly written. Reads like an unispired Ph. D. thesis. It is at its strongest when it deals with the early sicilian history, modern history (the last 100 years or so) is not dealt with particularly well and does not appear to be well researched.

Sandra Benjamin's book, Sicily, is the best history book I have ever read. She writes well, clearly, and with humor. If anyone wants to understand or get to know Sicily and its people, read this book.
I recently returned from a month in Sicily and had many questions about it's history, and why the Sicilians are Sicilians. It's all here.
Highly recommended.

This covers 3000 years in 400 pages so the author is not able to do more than say, so and so did this at this time at this place. The maps do not have the locations marked that are spoken about in the test. The people come and go so fast that it is impossible to remember their names. It is just not an interesting book.

Fascinating, well-researched, comprehensive AND wonderfully written with sprinklings of humor. Didn't think a history book would become my best summer reading!
V. Mauro

My husband and I both read this book in preparation for our trip to Sicily. To me the book was a little hard to get through at first. After about 50 pages it became much more interesting. Sicily's history is complicated and this book gives an insight to all the groups that ruled Sicily and why the Mafia developed there.

after several trips to sicily-----i wish i had read this before the first trip----------it gives the richness of a complex history that will take me years to even understand a bit..........the whole ancient world in visible in sicily

My Grandfather emigrated from Sicily during the 1890's and this book provided some very good insight into his reasons for leaving. The book revealed some family insights I had oftened wondered about. Anyone with a relative from Sicily would find this book of interest. Of particular interest is the long rich ancient history of Sicily which I knew little about.
If you have the time it is well worth the read. I will give it as a gift to some of my relatives.

Literally, the book is falling apart as I am trying to read it. This also happened to a friend. I have been trying to contact the publisher to no avail. They have not answered my e-mail. I am not going to bother to rate it since I am having so much trouble just keeping it together enough to read it.
B. Neil