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The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation
by: Mark Kurlansky

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 946.6
EAN: 9780140298512
ISBN: 0140298517
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: February 01, 2001
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Sales Rank: 71422
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Straddling a small corner of Spain and France in a land that is marked on no maps except their own, the Basques are a puzzling contradiction-they are Europe's oldest nation without ever having been a country. No one has ever been able to determine their origins, and even the Basques' language, Euskera-the most ancient in Europe-is related to none other on earth. For centuries, their influence has been felt in nearly every realm, from religion to sports to commerce. Even today, the Basques are enjoying what may be the most important cultural renaissance in their long existence.

Mark Kurlansky's passion for the Basque people and his exuberant eye for detail shine throughout this fascinating book. Like Cod, The Basque History of the World blends human stories with economic, political, literary, and culinary history into a rich and heroic tale.

Among the Basques' greatest accomplishments:

• Exploration-the first man to circumnavigate the globe, Juan Sebastián de Elcano, was a Basque and the Basques were the second Europeans, after the Vikings, in North America
• Gastronomy and agriculture-they were the first Europeans to eat corn and chili peppers and cultivate tobacco, and were among the first to use chocolate
• Religion-Ignatius Loyola, a Basque, founded the Jesuit religious order
• Business and politics-they introduced capitalism and modern commercial banking to southern Europe
• Recreation-they invented beach resorts, jai alai, and racing regattas, and were the first Europeans to play sports with balls

Amazon.com Review:
The buzz about the Guggenheim Bilbão aside, the Basques seldom get good press--from the 12th-century Codex of Calixtus ('A Basque or Navarrese would do in a French man for a copper coin') to current news items about ETA, the Basque nationalist group. Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod, sets out to change all that in The Basque History of the World.

'The singular remarkable fact about the Basques is that they still exist,' Kurlansky asserts. Without a defined country (other than Euskadi, otherwise known as 'Basqueland'), with no known related ethnic groups, the Basques are an anomaly in Europe. What unites the Basques, above all, is their language--Euskera. According to ETA, 'Euskera is the quintessence of Euskadi. So long as Euskera is alive, Euskadi will live.' To help provide a complete picture of the Basques, Kurlansky looks at their political, economic, social, and even culinary history, from the valiant Basque underground in World War II to medieval whalers to modern makers of the gâteau Basque. The most affecting chapter focuses on Guernica, a small market town bombed by German planes for over three hours on April 26, 1937, and uses interviews with survivors to illustrate the horror of the attack.

Kurlansky is clearly enamored of the Basques, which leads him to see them in a uniformly positive light. That rosy outlook aside, The Basque History of the World is an excellent introduction to these romantic people. Are they the original Europeans? Kurlansky doesn't weigh in on the issue, preferring instead to honor the Basque request Garean gareana legez--let us be what we are. --Sunny Delaney

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- It's a history, it's a cook book... it's both?
Yes, it's an interesting book about an interesting subject but it does seem to go on some tangents. The inclusion of recipes (like I can find baby eels in Fayetteville) gets to be a little annoying at times. A great work to get familiar with this unique people but it's heavily colored by the author's thesis about Basques in the EU. It might be good to supplement it with a more conventional book on Basque folkways and culture.

Rating:

- a beautiful book about a beautiful country
kurlansky does a wonderful job telling the history and describing the basque culture to readers. after having spent several months in bilbao, the basque culture is something that i learned to love and appreciate. kurlansky captures the essence of this sometimes hard to explain culture.

Rating:

- A fabulous book about a fabulously interesting culture
This is a great book for all those who have heard of the Basques but don't know much about who they really are. It is well written, interesting, and full of great stories that will bring these often forgotten people to life. A must read for anyone interested in European History, or who teaches Social Studies!

Rating:

- Delightful Account of a Unique Culture
I have read about the Basques for many years. My interest began as a teen-ager when I began studying the Spanish Civil War in which the Basques played a key, albeit schizophrenic, role. They fascinated me with their language that was unrelated to all other known laguages. Their persistent independence and their stoic nature added to their mystic.

I was also interested because my grandfather was a member of a European minority (Frisian) and that led my interest to other European minorities. I had noticed this book in the NY Review of Books and it looked interesting. It wasn't until this past summer that I bought a copy of it. We were travelling through Boise, ID and we stopped at the Basque Cultural Center and their museum. I wish I had read the book first because we ate lunch at a Basque restaurant but I didn't know what dishes they were best known for. The museum reminded me of much of what ... Read More

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