Rating: 
Summary: Norwich does a wonderful job where others ignore Byzantium
Review: For a History student who will probably never see a course titled "Byzantium" in his career, this book was a blessing in more ways than one. Not only has Norwich ventured into the unknown mystique that is Byzantium but does a great job writing a historical narrative at the same time. Indeed it was sad, watching as the longest existing Christian empire of all time slowly dwindled to the city of Constantinople and nothing more, but it makes you stand in awe at the pride and honor of these people as, even in that state, they regarded themselves as the most perfect empire on Earth, its emperor as God's Vice-Gerent on Earth, equal of the apostles. Where the last many students hear of Byzantium is usually Justinian in the 6th century, one's realizes that this empire withstood the rise Western Civilization as it grew from the ashes of the Western Roman Empire. Amazing it is to contemplate that the emperor of the Romans at one point held sway over territory as far West as Ravenna and Sicily and even the Holy Land. Luckily, left to posterity is the art of this wonderful empire: beautiful artifacts and icons, mosaic churches and old imperial buildings that still stand in Greece and Turkey. From Norwich, we better realize the context in which these things existed. We realize the consciousness of these deeply spiritual people, who sought not only a political unity, but a religious one as well, one whose authority was derived from Christ Himself.
Rating: 
Summary: Superficial but worthwhile
Review: The chief difficulty with this book is that it crams an incredible amount of information, spanning over a millenium, into a little less than four hundred pages.
Thus it moves extremely quickly, presenting the reader almost non-stop with new people, facts, and events. This makes it at times hard to follow. It also seems to be quite superficial. The author himself likens the process of preparing this condensation of his trilogy on Byzantine history to using a hovercraft to skim over the surface. He seems mainly to focus on the Emperors and the people around them, putting a fair bit of energy into assessing how close the monarchs came to achieving "greatness." (Considering the autocratic nature of Byzantine government and the importance of the Byzantine Emperor as "God's Vice-Gerent on Earth," this is probably a reasonable approach.)
Its flaws notwithstanding, the book is very readable (although occasionally tiresome) and frequently quite entertaining, full of droll understatement and subtle humor. The description of Constantinople's final hours is powerful and moving. Norwich is an extremely gifted writer.
As a chronological outline of the major events and figures in Byzantine history, this book is quite effective; moreover, it is an interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read...Now Where's the Trilogy?
Review: I'm weirdly fascinated by the Byzantine Empire and I found this book a perfect way to get a fairly in depth introduction to Byzantium. It touches upon most, if not all, the most important topics and players without dwelling on any of them too long. But while this is fine, I found that after awhile, the various leaders, political figures and the like breezed by so quickly that it was hard to get a firm grasp on the topic as a whole. What a surprise when I went back to read Mr. Norwich's own introduction (a High School English teacher once told me to always read the intro to a book AFTER you've read it because it will make more sense) and found that he makes the exact comment that if the reader finds the characters going by too quickly, "the trilogy awaits". But I've not been able to find it.Great book...fast, solid reading. Not boring..
Rating:
Summary: A great sweep of history
Review: Over a thousand years. 88 emperors, countless battles, plagues and theological intrigues. Norwich does a great job of making the story of this thousand years entertaining. His word picture of the final dramatic fall of Constantinople is superb.
Rating:
Summary: Zooming through Byzantium
Review: A Short History of Byzantium is John Julius Norwich's abridgement of his 3 volume work. He begins his book with an apology for skimming so quickly over the surface and vows that he has left out nothing important (adding that if you want more detail, the three-volume version awaits you). I knew virtually nothing about this fascinating period of history. I found the book extremely informative, as well as quite lively and entertaining, with a fabulous cast of characters. My favorite was the wily Theodora, who rises from sex show performer to Empress of Byzantium. (I also liked it when characters I knew from other contexts made an appearance, such as Charlemagne and Eleanor of Aquitaine.) This book also gave me a much better understanding of such things as the crusades, the complex relationship between the Catholic Church, the Byzantine Church and the Byzantine state; and the rivalry between Venice and Genoa. Just as importantly the book has also made me curious about some other things. I'd really like to know more about the Ottoman Empire after reading A Short History of Byzantium.
|
