Norman Davies is a supernumerary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Historical Society, and Professor Emeritus at London University. His books include Europe: A History (a New York Times Notable Book), The Isles: A History, and the definitive history of Poland, God s Playground."
Densely packed yet commendably accessible, magisterial and
uncommonly humane. "The Boston Globe" Hugely ambitious . . .From
the mists, Mr. Davies summons the kingdoms; he records their
emergence, their flowering and their demise whether by internall
diseases or forraign warre in Thomas Hobbes s words. And he
examines the traces that the kingdoms have left behind, in works of
art or a piece of rock or perhaps just a place name. "Wall Street
Journal" Davies resurrects the lands and peoples that were lost in
the brutal tide of history.. . . He is presenting knowledge gained
over a long lifetime of research. It takes a tremendous feat of
empathy to write a detailed tome about countries and peoples that
no longer exist. And the amount of information in "Vanished
Kingdoms" that will be new to all but the most expert students of
European history is staggering. . . . Fascinating facts and
insights flutter on its many pages. " San Francisco Chronicle"
Davies has written short histories of 15 nations and states in a
substantive volume that shows how so many past peoples have
intertwined with the larger world and shaped it even after they are
forgotten in the sands of time . . .an efficient, lively and
important work, an outstanding addition to the histories of the
human race. " Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" Daviesis well known as an
iconoclast who punctures the comforting myths of countries that
history has blessed . . . "Vanished Kingdoms" gives full rein to
his historical imagination and enthusiasms, imparting a powerful
sense of places lost in time. All across Europe ghosts will bless
him for telling their long-forgotten stories. "The Economist"
Davies performs autopsies of Europe s cadaver-states, and like a
skilled mortician he has a gift for making them appear lifelike. .
. . There are wonders in this book worth discovering. "The Nation"
Davies is certainly one of the best British historical writers of
the past half century, and every gauntlet he throws down is
bejeweled. His literary gifts and his capacity for what he nicely
calls imaginative sympathy are stretched to their limits by this
challenging project. . . . Yet Davies succeeds, and it is quite a
success. Timothy Snyder, "The Guardian" Brilliant . . . Davies asks
us to contemplate European history in an entirely different way,
seeing the map as a shifting patchwork of claims and identities,
its complexion always changing, some states dying, others making
unexpected revivals. . . . "Vanished Kingdoms" is distinguished by
his extraordinary intellectual ambition and lovely eye for detail.
Dominic Sandbrook, "Sunday Times "(London)"
"Brilliant . . . Davies asks us to contemplate European history in
an entirely different way, seeing the map as a shifting patchwork
of claims and identities, its complexion always changing, some
states dying, others making unexpected revivals. . . . "Vanished
Kingdoms" is distinguished by his extraordinary intellectual
ambition and lovely eye for detail." --Dominic Sandbrook, "Sunday
Times "(London)
"Davies has written short histories of 15 nations and states in a
substantive volume that shows how so many past peoples have
intertwined with the larger world and shaped it even after they are
forgotten in the sands of time . . . an efficient, lively and
important work, an outstanding addition to the histories of the
human race.""--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"
"Davies is certainly one of the best British historical writers of
the past half century, and every gauntlet he throws down is
bejeweled. His literary gifts and his capacity for what he nicely
calls 'imaginative sympathy' are stretched to their limits by this
challenging project. . . . Yet Davies succeeds, and it is quite a
success." --Timothy Snyder, "The Guardian"
"Davies is well known as an iconoclast who punctures the comforting
myths of countries that history has blessed . . . "Vanished
Kingdoms" gives full rein to his historical imagination and
enthusiasms, imparting a powerful sense of places lost in time. All
across Europe ghosts will bless him for telling their
long-forgotten stories." --"The Economist"
"Davies performs autopsies of Europe's cadaver-states, and like a
skilled mortician he has a gift for making them appear lifelike. .
. . There are wonders in this book worth discovering." --"The
Nation"
"Davies resurrects the lands and peoples that were lost in the
brutal tide of history. . . . He is presenting knowledge gained
over a long lifetime of research. It takes a tremendous feat of
empathy to write a detailed tome about countries and peoples that
no longer exist. And the amount of information in "Vanished
Kingdoms" that will be new to all but the most expert students of
European history is staggering. . . . Fascinating facts and
insights flutter on its many pages.""--San Francisco Chronicle"
"Densely packed yet commendably accessible, magisterial and
uncommonly humane." --"The Boston Globe"
"Hugely ambitious . . . From the mists, Mr. Davies summons the
kingdoms; he records their emergence, their flowering and their
demise--whether by 'internall diseases' or 'forraign warre' in
Thomas Hobbes's words. And he examines the traces that the kingdoms
have left behind, in works of art or a piece of rock or perhaps
just a place name." --"Wall Street Journal"
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