About book The Basque History Of The World: The Story Of A Nation (2001)
I've given up on rating this book because I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. The Basque History of the World will serve those who want an introduction to Basque Culture well. It covers both Basque History and the Basque perspective and participation in World History. It is written with the best intentions, too, and this is easy to tell from Kurlansky's unprejudiced narration of a history that is hotly contested and told with too many biases by both Basques and Spaniards.My first issue is that, well, Kurlansky can be a really boring writer. I slogged through the first section wondering what all of these chapters had to do with anything. Some of the chapters in this first section are referred to later, but I would've preferred the book to be more structured, so that I didn't have to get an idea of what the writer was attempting to achieve in the latter half of the book.The second is that this book is seriously begging to be proofread. Names of locations, particularly, are constantly misspelled or spelled in different, contradictory ways. Either consolidate the names, or explain why you're spelling them differently every sentence. I really have to wonder what an unfamiliar reader will make of the explanation that Sabino Arana named the region 'Euzkadi' because z is a more Basque sound than s, only to spell it Euskadi consequently. (Not to mention that Euskadi is the official name now, rather than Euzkadi.) I have to object to the use of Basqueland throughout the book, which invokes the idea of a land of mythical creatures or possibly a theme park. The Greater Region of Basque Country, or Greater Region for short, or even Basque Speaking lands, are all more appropriate and to the point. Then there are the mistakes: I saw Hondarribia being spelled as Hondaribbia or Hondarribía, and its Spanish name Fuenterrabía as Fuenterabbía. These are only a couple examples of the many in the book.The third issue is that, while I will disagree with reviewers who found this book to be "pro-terrorist propaganda" (really, though? and what would Kurlansky gain by writing "pro-terrorist propaganda," as an uninvolved American?), there are a couple of pages where I thought he portrayed victims as opportunists. I didn't think Kurlansky was spewing a "load of lies" or sharing propaganda, but it seemed to me that, in his effort to be unprejudiced about a delicate subject, his sympathy for his subjects briefly overtook him. Aside from said two pages, I found the book to make, as aforementioned, an effort to remain objective. This is all the more obvious by its treatment of the Basque Nationalist Party and their exploits, which Kurlansky characterizes as economically privileged with all that that entails, and silly at turns. See: the whole Guggenheim Museum section.And anyway, it is hard to call a book ETA propaganda when only 4 of its 16 chapters devote any time to the terrorist group. The author is actually concerned about the idea that Basque has come to be synonymous with ETA, and the apparent goal of the book is to show the culture, cuisine and language that Basqueness is really about. Instead of closing with a screed about the evil Spaniards, Kurlansky shares scenes of a 'txarriboda', an occasion in which a rural community gathers to kill a pig, make sausages, chorizos and other pork products, eat them and share jokes in Basque and Spanish both. I guess you could argue that the murder of a pig is symbolic, but then you'd probably be the reason why I choose to read books about Spanish History by foreign historians, rather than homegrown ones.And, on that note, if Kurlansky's writing didn't impress you and you wish to read of the whole of Spain rather than the Basques, then I recommend Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past by Giles Tremlett. While also a light read rather than academic writing, it should satisfy those cursorily intrigued by the country.
This is a great insight into many aspects of life and culture in the Basque Country including language, literature, history, religion, economy, sports and food. The latter adds some quirkiness in the form of recipes scattered throughout the book. That comes as less of a surprise if you know that Kurlansky worked as a fisherman and a chef before publishing books entitled Salt and Cod either side of this one. The fish plays a big part in Basque cuisine and there is good insight here into the role Basques have played in seafaring, whaling and overseas exploration.I decided to re-read this book recently because I will shortly relocate to the Basque Country – or Basquelands – as the author tends to refer to them. The BHOTW provides the opportunity to pick up a few words of a language which appears difficult because it bears almost no relation to Latin or even Western European languages in general. In fact, Basque is only one of four European languages that do not belong to the Indo-European group (the others being Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian).Euskal Herria (the land of the Basque speakers) is a complicated and intriguing place in many ways: spanning the French-Spanish border with three provinces in France and four in Spain; although the former kingdom of Navarre is an autonomous region of the modern Spanish state in its own right and not officially part of the autonomous Basque region (or Euskadi). The book looks at the origins of these people who have no tradition of aristocracy outside of Navarre, before outlining key events in its history such as the ancient Fueros laws, Carlist Wars, the bombing of Guernica and other Basque towns during the Spanish Civil War, the Franco era and the history of ETA. I’ve read some criticism of this book that it doesn’t go deeply enough into atrocities committed by ETA, but surely that is an area that has been more than adequately covered elsewhere. As Kurlansky pointed out at the time of writing (1999), 95% of articles about the Basque Country in the international press mention ETA. Of course, the political situation has changed somewhat since this book was written. That is the only sense in which it has dated but it gives good background to the sources of conflict.Is this bias or simply a different perspective that some, particularly Spaniards, may not wish to acknowledge? Many of the views expressed in the mainstream Spanish press about the Basques are hardly objective, and it is worth asking if they, or a writer from Connecticut, USA, can provide more objectivity. However, the Basques themselves appear to have taken to this book since Kurlansky was awarded an honoury ambassadorship from the Basque Government and inducted into the Basque Hall of Fame in 2001. There are other areas I have not touched upon such as the importance of Catholicism in the region (particularly the Jesuits), industry and economy ("Basque banks controlled one third of all investment in Spain"), "the most policed population in Europe", the flagship Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and unique sports but I would encourage you to get this informative and entertaining book and find out more about this intriguing place that merits recognition for more than terrorism.
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This book explains a lot. We live in an area of France that is either within or on the edge of the French Basque country (depending upon who you ask). The book explains the roadblocks and car searches that we have encountered while crossing the Pyrenees into Spain. I remember the first time we drove to Bilbao. It it a dense urban area with large factories and huge rusting steel plants. And I had this romantic idea that the Pays Basque was a land of small farmers, goat herders and cheese artisans. Who knew that it was the Pittsburgh and Northern Ireland of Spain? And what were we to think when an ETA arms cache was found up the road from our village? The Basque History of the World explains all of this. I'll never drive through this area of Northern Spain without thinking back to this book. Merci beaucoup. Mucho gracias.
—Xander Ring
I enjoyed Kurlansky's book Salt and as I've never read anything about the Basques I decided to give this a go. It certainly seems thorough enough: everything from politics to pil pil is covered and one gets a good sense of the cultural mindset that makes a Basque a Basque (though it appears "what makes a Basque a Basque" will forever be up for debate). I found myself flying through the first 150 pages or so, as Kurlansky treats us to a fascinating history lesson which starts with the Basques' dealings with the Carthaginians and Romans, then the Moors and finally the Aragonese and the Reconquista. I will say that I had a bit of a hard time with the author's very early supposition that all the Basques wanted was to be "left alone", particularly when this was contrasted with the fact that Basques willingly served as mercenaries in Hannibal's fateful attack on Rome. If you want to be "left alone", it's probably not a good idea to choose sides in what was the great superpower battle of the day. Nevertheless, Kurlansky gives us a good picture of the political, social, economic and even culinary attributes of a Basque and I found the first half or so of the book to be his strongest. Unfortunately (and probably because it simply was the history with which he had to work) the latter half of the book deals singularly with the 20th century and becomes bogged down in names of Basque nationalists, Francoists and a parade of acronyms. While I think that understanding what occurred in Basqueland (both Spanish and French) in the 20th century is critical to understanding where these people are coming from, after a while the rather journalistic tendency of Kurlansky to rattle off endless amounts of dates, names and numbers of casualties makes the reader somewhat numb to the hideous mountain of retribution and retaliation that was the norm. In the brief bio of the author at the back of the book it indicates that his first professional assignment was in Spain following Franco's regime, so it doesn't appear to be much of a stretch to assume that this part of the book was nearest and dearest to him, but I think the eagerness to share every detail should have been tempered with the idea that perhaps this wasn't meant to be a 350+ page book.
—John-Paul
Looking back on reading this one I'm most fascinated by the fact that the author, while slightly in awe of the legend of the Basque people, is in no way afraid to show the ugly sides to their history as well. I think most people who are interested regard the Basques as the eternal heroic outsiders. But this book doesn't shy away from showing how often and how easily racism and anti-semitism can arise in areas of strong nationalist identity. "The Basques share with the Celts the privilege of indulging in unrivaled extravagance on the subject of themselves" was a quote from 1884 that was included in the book and gave me a bit of a wry laugh. But, like I said, while he does poke fun at the Basque myth, he also believes in it deep down, and why wouldn't he? The story he tells from prehistory to the present day ordinary people he meets while researching show a facinating people, who seem full of contradictions; distrustful of outsiders yet imminently hospitable, taciturn yet full of warmth and always ready to sing, inward looking but also some of the greatest adventurers and seafarers the world has seen, and later pioneering businessmen when capitalism was embryonic. I did buy this book on holiday in Bilbao, so it gets extra goodwill point for that, but as a history book, it's definitely up there with the really good ones I've read. One thing the author deals with really well is (unlike the early Basque nationalists) he doesn't try to create a simple narrative in the evolution of Basque politics. This was unusual for me to read, because historians naturally enough I suppose, like to tell a story which makes sense and has a clear, sensible outcome. This guy is a fisherman more than a historian from what I gather, and he tells the history of the wars and politics of the Basque country with all its twists and turns and strong opposing loyalties in a way that I feel gave me a better appreciation of the seeming contradictions of the modern day Basque political scene that I think an author looking for a clear cut narrative would not have. How did a people and country renowned for being extremely religious come to be a place more palpably leftwing than any place else I've been? Many people in the history of the Basque country were staunchly royalist, and this might seem counter intuitive to a modern politics tourist such as myself. The reasons for all this are clear when you see where the various loyalties the country had got them, or rather didn't get them, in the long centuries that they've been struggling for self determination. The Catholic church, the monarchy, the Carlists, the liberals, the anti-Francoists and even, though it came close, the alliance in WWII - none of them secured the Basques their self determination. In the end gun toting revolutionaries/terrorists (take your pick!) could not do so either. It's hard to know where the struggle goes next. To paraphrase the author in a 100, or maybe even 1000 years, there may not be a France or a Spain, but there will still be Basques. Anyway, the book is also peppered throughout with recipes, which I thought was delightful, and more history writers should take a leaf out of that particular book.
—Fiona Moyler
