With "Europe: A History", University of London professor Norman Davies has
undertaken the near impossible: a synthetic one-volume overview of Europe
from prehistory through the present. Remarkably, he has succeeded.
Europe: A History is a conventional narrative, proceeding forward in time
at a gradually decelerating pace. (The beginning covers millions of years
of prehistory, while the final chapter discusses the 46 years between World
War II and the book's publication.) But Davies's writing--vigorous, incisive,
and confidently knowledgeable--carries the reader along, while the steady
sweep of the main narrative is broken up by "capsules," boxed passages
examining particular places, customs, or issues that cut across chronological
lines. Davies, who has written two books on Polish history, also gives
the eastern part of Europe its due coverage, unlike many of his predecessors,
and manages to include commoners and the persecuted or ignored in his story
along with the mighty and the royal. Europe: A History won't please everybody,
but it's a highly intelligent, superbly readable overview that is certain
to become a standard text.

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