Mark Mazower is professor of history at Columbia University and Birkbeck College, London. He is the author of Inside Hitler’s Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941–44, winner of the Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary History and the Longman/History Today Award for Book of the Year. He lives in New York City.
“Remarkable. . . . Mazower reconstructs a society of dazzling
ethnic complexity and exoticism . . . .a thriving port and a
crossroads between Europe and Asia.” —The New York Times
“An exhaustive, affectionate biography of the city, a deeply
researched account that becomes a portrait of the singular,
vanished cosmopolitanism of the Ottoman Empire.” —The Baltimore
Sun
“A masterpiece. . . . A masterly synthesis of cultural, political,
economic, intellectual, and social history. . . . A book to bring
one to tears.” —The Boston Globe
“A history of a fascinating, turbulent city by one of the most
distinguished historians of his generationÉMazower has provided a
brilliant guide to Salonica’s rich past.”—The New York Review of
Books
“Timely, magnificent and sometimes unbearably poignant . . . Brings
alive a lost world, one with much to teach contemporary Europe
about the nature of identity and nationality.”—The Nation
“[A] tremendous book about a city unique not just in Europe, but in
the entire history of humanity. . .What [Mazower] does to
perfection is to express the historical meaning of Salonica down
the generations, authenticating his story with a multitude of
contemporary quotations, from the 15th to the 20th century, and
scrupulously explaining it all out of his profound scholarly
knowledge. ”—Jan Morris, The Guardian
"Mark Mazower's new book is a necessary masterpiece; necessary
because it fills a gap, and a masterpiece because it fills that gap
so well. It is written in bite-sized pieces that make the book a
pleasure to read, and, since one cannot resist reading the next
section, curiously moreish. It sustained me recently during a long
trip to the US, continually delivering small pleasures whenever I
had a moment in hand."-—Louis de Bernieres, Times of London
"Enthralling new history . . . In a brilliant chapter on popular
culture in the interwar years, Mazower shows how the development of
a modern urban culture -- in dance, music, art, literature and,
most importantly, sex -- began to turn a city of exiles and
refugees into a place that could be called home. . . Tragic,
hopeful and beautifully written, Salonica, City of Ghosts shows how
cities, as much as people, can be seduced by the prospect of
escaping their own past and remaking themselves in ways
unrecognizable to old friends." —Charles King, Times Literary
Supplement
"[Mazower] sensitively analyses the internal debates and divisions
which could be found within all the major communities." —Noel
Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph
"Masterly . . . draws on many new sources: the diary of a
Ukraninian refugee in the 1720s; consuls' despatches; the files of
the Jewish Museum of Greece. This is a brilliant and timely
reminder that cities have played as important a role as states in
the lives of their inhabitants."—Philip Mansel, The Spectator
"A brilliant reconstruction of one of Europe's great meeting places
between the three monotheistic faiths."—The Economist
"Mazower is a formidable historian. Two of his earlier books,
Inside Hitler's Greece and The Balkans: A Short History, rank as
definitive works. He has produced a majestic work: the biography of
a city, complete with soul and ichor."—Moris Farhi, The
Independent
"Salonica, City of Ghosts, is a wonderful evocation of the complex,
glorious and tragic history of a city, with lessons both positive
and negative for our present age. The author, as always, writes
with compelling clarity and penetrating eye for detail. If the past
is another country, the author allows us to travel there." —Anthony
Daniels, "Books of the Year," Sunday Telegraph
"This exploration into the soul of a Balkan ciy is both evocative
and profound, a masterful addition to Mazower's work." —Jad Adams,
BBC History (Salonica was their book of the month for October.)
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