A thoughtful consideration of the imaginary lines that hold meaning for so many.
Scottish historian and documentarian Crawford looks at the meaning of borders and the power they hold.
Borders are marked by walls, fences, barbed wire, and armed guards. In some places, they’re less martial, as with a “three-country cairn” that marks the junction of Sweden, Norway, and Finland but is buried in snow for much of the year. In other places, borders may not be well marked but can have consequences for the person who crosses them willfully or even in error. In a provocative section of his narrative, Crawford considers the fate of the Alpine “iceman” called Ötzi, who was murdered as he hunted in the mountains, perhaps because he crossed a line that he shouldn’t have. As one archaeologist remarked about certain “cult sites” found in the interceding valleys, “I think these places are markers for territory. If you came from the north, you’d see these places and they show you, that is my territory, or the territory of my community.” Today, of course, the borders extend to the highest peaks, with markers made meaningless at times due to geological upheaval and melting glaciers. Crawford travels widely to make his points in a text reminiscent of those of Barry Lopez or Robert Macfarlane. One fruitful stop finds him at the Roman walls built at the orders of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, walls that lie far south of the great Roman victory over the Caledonians at the Battle of Mons Graupius. Why did the Romans give up so much territory when it appeared it was theirs to be had? “The end of the world had been reached, grasped and let go,” writes the author, with no apparent explanation at hand. With the increasingly destructive effects of climate change, borders continue to collapse as island countries are disappearing under the waves and refugees flee their devastated homelands, lending Crawford’s musings added timeliness.
A thoughtful consideration of the imaginary lines that hold meaning for so many.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-324-03704-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
Gibbins combines historical knowledge with a sense of adventure, making this book a highly enjoyable package.
A popular novelist turns his hand to historical writing, focusing on what shipwrecks can tell us.
There’s something inherently romantic about shipwrecks: the mystery, the drama of disaster, the prospect of lost treasure. Gibbins, who’s found acclaim as an author of historical fiction, has long been fascinated with them, and his expertise in both archaeology and diving provides a tone of solid authority to his latest book. The author has personally dived on more than half the wrecks discussed in the book; for the other cases, he draws on historical records and accounts. “Wrecks offer special access to history at all…levels,” he writes. “Unlike many archaeological sites, a wreck represents a single event in which most of the objects were in use at that time and can often be closely dated. What might seem hazy in other evidence can be sharply defined, pointing the way to fresh insights.” Gibbins covers a wide variety of cases, including wrecks dating from classical times; a ship torpedoed during World War II; a Viking longship; a ship of Arab origin that foundered in Indonesian waters in the ninth century; the Mary Rose, the flagship of the navy of Henry VIII; and an Arctic exploring vessel, the Terror (for more on that ship, read Paul Watson’s Ice Ghost). Underwater excavation often produces valuable artifacts, but Gibbins is equally interested in the material that reveals the society of the time. He does an excellent job of placing each wreck within a broader context, as well as examining the human elements of the story. The result is a book that will appeal to readers with an interest in maritime history and who would enjoy a different, and enlightening, perspective.
Gibbins combines historical knowledge with a sense of adventure, making this book a highly enjoyable package.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781250325372
Page Count: 304
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An erudite guide to the biblical world.
Revelations from the Old Testament.
“The Bible has no rivals when it comes to the art of omission, of not saying what everyone would like to know,” observes Calasso (1941-2021), the acclaimed Italian publisher, translator, and explorer of myth, gods, and sacred ritual. In this probing inquiry into biblical mysteries, the author meditates on the complexities and contradictions of key events and figures. He examines the “enigmatic nature” of original sin in Genesis, an anomaly occurring in no other creation myth; God’s mandate of circumcision for all Jewish men; and theomorphism in the form of Adam: a man created in the image of the god who made him. Among the individuals Calasso attends to in an abundantly populated volume are Saul, the first king of Israel; the handsome shepherd David, his successor; David’s son Solomon, whose relatively peaceful reign allowed him “to look at the world and study it”; Moses, steeped in “law and vengeance,” who incited the slaughter of firstborn sons; and powerful women, including the Queen of Sheba (“very beautiful and probably a witch”), Jezebel, and the “prophetess” Miriam, Moses’ sister. Raging throughout is Yahweh, a vengeful God who demands unquestioned obedience to his commandments. “Yahweh was a god who wanted to defeat other gods,” Calasso writes. “I am a jealous God,” Yahweh proclaims, “who punishes the children for the sins of their fathers, as far as the third and fourth generations.” Conflicts seemed endless: During the reigns of Saul and David, “war was constant, war without and war within.” Terse exchanges between David and Yahweh were, above all, “military decisions.” David’s 40-year reign was “harrowing and glorious,” marked by recurring battles with the Philistines. Calasso makes palpable schisms and rivalries, persecutions and retributions, holocausts and sacrifices as tribal groups battled one another to form “a single entity”—the people of Israel.
An erudite guide to the biblical world.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-374-60189-8
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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