The Basque History of the World

Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: It makes me proud to be basque, to know that my people has been here before spaniards and french and that we will be here for long proud and different

Rating:
Summary: Bad literature over serious matters
Review: Unfortunately Mr Kurlansky has fell victim of a child-like version of the history of the world.

Whoever reads this book will not understand anything of the current strugle of the majority of the basques, trying to leave in peace and freedom in a region with more self-government than any german lander. Nor will they understand why several basque university profesors have fled to the United States looking for a secure place where they can speak and writte their own minds.

Mr Kurlansky pastoral and bucolic depiction of a preexisting paradise inhabited by guilt free, innocent beings living in a natural beatifull landscape and enjoying the most delicious dishes from bountifull mother hearth that suddenly is perturbed by the invasion of a foreign race is, unfortunately, a common feature of other histories of the world where there is a chosen people, a race that used to be pure and is threatened to be contaminated. It is also unfortunately similar to other accounts of history, from white supremacists to serbian propaganda, in which many small details are wrigth but the whole picture is wrong.

Mr Kurlansky mixing of landscape and food with uncritical accounts of crimes does provide for bad literature but does not help in the pursuit of thruth. He is, at best, a naive an impresionable nature, and, at worst, a travel companion of a small group of basques that follow, yes an ancient tradition in human kind, racism.

Anybody seriously interested in learning what is happening in the Basque country, should instead read the books from , perhaps the most important philosopher in Spain today, himself a Basque, Fernando Savater, who just received the European Parlament Sajarov Human Rights Award for his contribution.

Tragically the same mixture that Mr Kurlansky blends in his book is the account of the last crime of this group of Basques. In the beatifull landscape of Guipuzcoa a cook was blown to bits by a mine under his car. He will not be able anymore to prepare the delicious recipes that Mr Kurlansky blends with his bland account of history.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally good history
Review: The Basque History of the World is a delightful, detailed and non-controversial history of the Basque people and their land(s). Mark Kurlansky has cut through the myths and mis-information surrounding the Basque history, their culture and their traditions to come up with a pretty clear and accurate vision, told in clear and concise prose.

The Basques have a proud history and culture which they are (and should be) proud of - this book captures all this well and truly.

regards,

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Rating:
Summary: Preparing to visit the Basque country
Review: I bought this book in preparation for an upcoming trip to the Basque region of Spain and France. Turns out that I not only learned a lot about the Basque area and the history, but received a new and different historical perspective. The history of Spain is very interesting. As a bonus, one learns a lot about European and World history as well. I recommend the book to anyone either interested in history [especially European history] or anyone preparing to visit Spain.

Rating:
Summary: Support terrorism, please!
Review: If you would like to support a terrorist group who has killed almost 1000 people in the last thirty years, this book is a must read. "Sure"-you must think-"those killed people were assasins or torturers themselves". Well, the last victim (as of today, it is hard to keep up with ETA so by the time you read this it probably won't be the last) was killed because he defended that all sides in the "Basque problem" should sit down and talk. ETA recognized that this was very dangerous and, thus, killed him and produced a public note explaining their reasons. Not to mention that most of his latest killings have been public officials elected in democatric elections (contested by not a single international organization). Long live democracy!... but let's kill the mayor if he is not from our political party.

Again, you may think that this review was written by some crazy hothead. Well, think about this: Take a look at the reviews about this book and see how many negative ones include the author's name. I did not see a single one (of course, there is a slight possibility that this may not be true when you read this, but I doubt it). Do you want to know why? Because anybody who speaks against ETA is forced to remain protected for the rest of his/her life. On the other hand, take a look at the positive reviews: You will see that some (if not all) of them carry the author's name. Now, think about how life is in the Basque Country for those people who are not ETA symphatizers.

Oh, I almost forgot. The author forgets to mention in his book that polls show that a majority of Basques consider themselves also Spaniards and that only a small percentage is in favor of independence. Gee, I wonder why that does not appear in the book.

A Basque.

Rating:
Summary: Ignore the nonsense on this page!
Review: This book was an excellent read about the Basques, their history, culture, and cuisine. The reviews have centred on Kurlansky's view of ETA. What about the rest of the book? Whales, cod, Elkano, Loyola, Arana, Aguirre, pelota, elvers .... It is amazing to find out the a Basque was the first to circumnavigate the globe, that two Basques founded the Jesuits, that Simon Bolivar was descended from Basques, and so on. Silhouette is a Basque word. Canadians will remember a great football plyer named Sam Etcheverry. Was he, too, as Basque as his name suggests?

I did not think this was a book about ETA. But from the reviews on this page, one would think this was a great big book glorifying terrorism! I have read this book twice. I would suggest you read it too. For once we have the chance to read about a people from their own point of view.

And for those who think there is too much politics in Kurlansky, forget it, life is politics! I will give you some politics for free. Like the Welsh , the Basques have been obliterated from the map for several hundred years. But entities such as "Spain" have only been in existence for a couple of hundred years, while the Basques trace their origins to prehistory. Spain seem to have given up all their colonies except those closest to home. The Spanish did quite a bit to keep this lucrative colony, including using the Luftwaffe to flatten Basque market towns. (Incredible now that they will not allow Picasso's Gernika to be shown in Bilbao.)Trying to kill off the Basque language,a unique tongue unrelated to any known language, was just an immense disservice to humanity.

The Basques (and Welsh,) however, will be there long after Spain and Britain and other empires have ceased to be. Within the European union, there is no longer a need to keep these small nations in subjection and to deny them their rightful place.

Again, I say, ignore the above reviews, read this book, and decide for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Colorful, but Dangerously Misleading
Review: I am a moderate basque nationalist, firmly against violence. Those pro-violence / pro-ETA basques represent at most 15% of the population, yet, they have manageed to get their point accross beatifully through Mr. Kurlansky. He should not forget either, that we are a plural society and that half of us do not consider themselves nationalits.

ETA should not be mistified nor glorified. They kill people, including moderate basque nationalists (Korta, Goikoetxea, etc) and non-nationalist basques (Buesa, Jauregui, Iruretagoiena, Izaustre, Blanco, Zamarreno, Perdrosa Urquiza, etc.)and are classified as a Terrorist Group by the US Government.

Mr. Kurlansky has, through the evil ignorance of a non-basque, at best portrayed a biased picture of Basque history and politics, and at worst contributed to the death and violence of ETA.

Rating:
Summary: A sectarian and misinformed depiction of the Basques
Review: As a Basque person, I find this book a poisonous gift. Kurlansky has obviously enjoyed his time amongst us (probably while researching his excellent book on cod) and all that cider at the "sidreria" has somehow gone up to his head while writing about the Basque Country. With the craft of an experienced storyteller, he manages to put together all the cliche, victimism, and bigotry that is still afflicting us. Ironically, his passionate tale helps to understand why so many people are still today passionately murdered, kidnapped, tortured, and forced to exile. Gezurrak (edo sasiegiak) ez dira askatzaileak: Lies and half-truths do not liberate us.

Rating:
Summary: A colourful read
Review: I have always been interested in the Basques, since studying the Spanish Civil War in high school. I received this book as a present and have read it twice in five months. Since then I have investigated Basque culture on the internet and am interested in living there for awhile and learning the language. Kurlansky spins a great story, and there is plenty here to tell. The Basques, like the Welsh, have been a minority within a larger and more powerful nation-state for centuries, and have been subjected to numerous attempts at assimilation. But nonetheless they have survived against all odds, and have prospered. For those whose sympathies lie with the small nations, this story is one of hope. Read this book! A footnote to this is that I was able to recognize the Basque names on a few of the soccer players in Euro 2000 (and saw an ikurrina in the stands). I have a feeling a Basque team would be very competitive.

Rating:
Summary: a nice guide for no Basques
Review: Although there are some exaggerations and misunderstandings about both our country and our people, this book is a good guide for those who want to know the Basques better and to understand what is going on in this corner of Europe.