markm reviewed The pursuit of power by Richard J. Evans (Penguin history of Europe -- VII)
Review of 'The pursuit of power' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A great history of Europe from 1815 to 1914 by Sir Richard Evans, the author of the excellent trilogy about the Third Reich. It’s taken me a month to read this and summarizing it in any meaningful way for you is difficult, but...
The book is organized into sections based on concepts or historical themes including the end of the Napoleonic wars; the end of Serfdom; the Industrial and textile revolutions; the revolutions of 1830, 1848, etc.; the gradual advance of liberal democracy with the coming of modification of work hours, the reduction of work hazards and the expansion of the electorate; the development of trade unions, Socialism, and Communism; the independence of Belgium, the unification of Italy and Germany; the Crimean, Franco-Prussian, Russo-Japanese, Boer and Balkan wars; the coming of Imperialism; the development of the working and middle classes; plus the exploration of the Earth and the advancement of …
A great history of Europe from 1815 to 1914 by Sir Richard Evans, the author of the excellent trilogy about the Third Reich. It’s taken me a month to read this and summarizing it in any meaningful way for you is difficult, but...
The book is organized into sections based on concepts or historical themes including the end of the Napoleonic wars; the end of Serfdom; the Industrial and textile revolutions; the revolutions of 1830, 1848, etc.; the gradual advance of liberal democracy with the coming of modification of work hours, the reduction of work hazards and the expansion of the electorate; the development of trade unions, Socialism, and Communism; the independence of Belgium, the unification of Italy and Germany; the Crimean, Franco-Prussian, Russo-Japanese, Boer and Balkan wars; the coming of Imperialism; the development of the working and middle classes; plus the exploration of the Earth and the advancement of science. Whew.
In addition to considerable numerical and historical detail, with the discussion of what seemed to be every key person, the book is peppered with anecdotes, quotations and mention of important works of art and literature. For example:
At the time of the appointment of Talleyrand as the French foreign minister and Joseph Fouché as the minister of police, Chateaubriand commented that this was “vice leaning on the arm of crime”, and
when the Greek politician Ioannis Kapodistrias (1776 - 1831) was initially unsuccessful in the introduction of the potato to Greece, he had the potatoes surrounded by armed guards at the waterfront in Nafplio. The local inhabitants were then convinced of their value and stole them all.
There is a lot of fascinating stuff here, but I was especially enlightened by the author’s discussion of serfs; how they functioned, their importance in different countries, and the consequence of the abolition of serfdom. He commented that there were slaves in Europe, notably Gypsies in Romania. I also especially liked his final summary of the details of the coming of the first World War in the final chapter. The book is clearly an extraordinary accomplishment.
