A Short History of Europe

I must preface this review by saying that I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley.

A Short History of Europe: From Pericles to Putin is a capable single-volume history of the geopolitical entity of Europe. It is relative short and to the point. And it is relatively novel in that it eschews the history of the states of Europe. In his introduction, Simon Jenkins—a notable journalist and writer on history, politics, and architecture—makes the reader well aware that Jenkins is also aware of the shortcomings of the book. And he encourages the reader to go deeper on their own, and provides the roadmap to do so. This gives the volume a lot of utility for the general public.

Jenkins writes that he is writing a conventional history, meaning that he has divided the work into periods defined by Great Men and Great Powers. This political approach can be problematic in that it removes all other narratives, which Jenkins repeats are absolutely as important. They’re just outside his scope. And given the small page count, understanding how to control scope is important. The work is also quite unconventional. Jenkins is generally uninterested in the life and times of states. Those Great Men in his history are those who have transcended the nation and the state and affect a “continental consciousness”.

As such, he begins with Greece. People existed before, a long line of European polities began long before we have names for the states and instead refer to the civilizations by their artifacts. But Greece not only introduced the concept of a Europe, but formed the basis of European identity through Hellenistic and Roman inheritance. From here, we move very swiftly through time. Important figures and population movements are the meat of the first third of the book. It’s this from which we have modern European states, which rose from Germanic kingdoms in France, Italy, and Spain on the ashes of Rome and the flourishing Roman Catholic religion.

From there we delve more into the development of the modern state itself. In some ways, this may seem like it goes against the introduction’s insistence that individual states are not the focus, but if we view these vignettes as case studies which are representative of the growth of the state from a personal domain to a bureaucratic entity, from enslaved peoples to citizens with a social contract, it makes perfect sense.

The last third looks at how these states interacted, writ large: Napoleonic Wars, the Peace of Metternich, two World Wars, and then the Cold War. It ends with a bit of a contradiction. On one hand, the European political system is seeming to unify into an ever-stronger federal system in the EU. Yet on the other, seeds of doubt are planted by a rebirth of nationalism and a Russia which seeks to profit from chaos if that EU breaks. The book ends on a bit of a down note, questioning the future of the relative peace and prosperity brought by these four thousand years of European existence.

This is a good book for the layperson, who may not be terribly aware of European history or one seeking a history which goes beyond being a collection of national histories. The review copy I received does not have illustrations present, but it does include a considerable list which are to be included in the final version. Aside from that, it is well formatted and well edited. In the back is a list of works referenced, in lieu of citations; which is sufficient for the intended audience (who, frankly, probably aren’t interested in obscure scholarly works). Overall, this book is worth looking at.