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Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History
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Review
“Suavely readable . . . The very model of a popular historian, [John Julius Norwich] writes to give pleasure to the common reader. And what pleasure it is. . . . Even by European standards, Sicilian history is a crazy-quilt affair, and the nearly 3,000 years of it covered by Mr. Norwich—from the founding of the first Greek colonies in the eighth century B.C. through World War II—feature a ‘Who’s Who’ of powers, dynasties and civilizations.”—The Wall Street Journal“Entertaining on every page . . . There is something ancient and sorrowful in Sicily, ‘some dark, brooding quality,’ just as captivating as its spellbinding history or its beautiful and varied landscapes, from beaches to lemon groves, pine forests to volcanoes. . . . The most amiable and freewheeling of guides, Norwich will always find time for the amusing anecdote.”—The Sunday Times“Utterly engrossing . . . written with passion about the art and architecture of this magical island, filled with gossipy tidbits and sweeping historical theories.”—The Daily Beast “Dazzling . . . Norwich is an elegantly graceful and entertaining storyteller.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch “Charming . . . richly nuanced history relayed with enormous fondness.”—Kirkus Reviews “A brisk and always-lively tour.”—Open Letters Monthly “Norwich is deeply in love with Sicily. [His] boundless affection has inspired a determined effort to understand its painful past. The result is impressionistic, as love often is.”—The Times“Sicily’s political history is full of so much turbulence it’s sometimes hard to keep track of the battles, murders and successions, but Norwich sketches personalities vividly: Emma Hamilton, for example, a glamorous former courtesan whose celebrated affair with Nelson began in Sicily; or Salvatore Giuliano, ‘Sicily’s most notorious but . . . best-loved bandit.’ Norwich calls this book his ‘valediction’ to Sicily: he does the island and the reader a generous service in providing such an amiable introduction.”—The Sunday Telegraph “Norwich tells [Sicily’s] long, sad but fascinating story with sympathy and brio.”—Literary Review
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About the Author
John Julius Norwich was the author of more than twenty books, including the New York Times bestseller Absolute Monarchs. He began his career in the British foreign service, but resigned his diplomatic post to become a writer. He was a chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund and the honorary chairman of the World Monuments Fund. John Julius Norwich died in 2018.
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Product details
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (July 21, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812995171
ISBN-13: 978-0812995176
Product Dimensions:
6.5 x 1.2 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.1 out of 5 stars
110 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#42,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Anyone who's roots are in Sicily or who wants to learn about this unique crossroad between east and west should rush out to buy this book.John Julius Norwich is a terrific authority on Sicily and a delightful writer. I laughed out loud any number of times as he described the utter madness of Sicily's crazy history. Yes, he covers 3000 years of it, and yes, it's damned confusing. Lots of utter chaos and lots of glory and plague and viciousness. The Greeks were there at the beginning of this story but were unorganized and let themselves be overrun. The Arabs, French, Spanish, English, and Germans were all after this wonderful island, murdering and raping their way across it over centuries. Norwich talks about it being a sad place, too. Now it has some stability, but the Mafia is still there, and Norwich ends his history after WW II. He devotes only a few sentences to the present, but he waxes poetic about the architectural wonders, the beauty, and the historical riches to be found there. For sure, his love of Sicily comes shining through. If you can be patient and follow all the names and places Norwich casually throws at you, since he knows them so well, you will enjoy this book. It puts today's madness in perspective. Highly recommended.
I did enjoy reading this book: not really an history book, with the usual endless and pedantic sequence of names and dates that will be forgotten as soon as read. the author provides rather the essential treads leading from one historical development to the next. I am a Sicilian myself, and what make me decide to buy the book was a comment in the introduction on which I totally agree: because of their history Sicilians have very little if any sense of humor and the prevailing mood is one of a sort of resigned sadness and a feeling of hopelessness, mixed with the illusion that somebody else will come and take care of our own problems. This is demonstrated throughout the book, but in a very sensitive, humorous and sympathetic way. I do recommend reading this book if you want to have a basic understanding of Sicilian uniqueness and complex, fascinating history and culture. The pages on the Normand Kingdom period (ca 1100) are truly illuminating and show the fascination of the author with this splendid and largely unknown period of Sicilian history.
Imagine touring Sicily with the most knowledgeable guide available - experienced in history, politics, art, literature. This is what Norwich's most recent book provides. His always friendly, accessible prose communicates his fascination with this place and its history. I enjoyed it as much as I have his other books that I've read.The period he is most interested in was the period of the Normans ruling Sicily, which he covered in depth in his two volume work on the Normans in Sicily. Those books completely held my interest over 800 pages. Another period which got my attention was the Napoleonic era with plenty of colorful characters.Highly recommended.
Overall this is a very interesting book and has deepened my knowledge of Sicily, where my ancestors are from. I do think, however that the book would benefit greatly from more maps and illustrations within the chapters. A background of the ancient and classical world is a must before reading. I also am curious as to why the author devotes only a couple paragraphs to the Arab rule/time period. This time contributed so much to Sicilian culture--food, language, architecture. It just seems odd to give them so little attention.
I'm sure the author didn't miss a detail, but this was deadly dull and difficult to follow. And since the major cities/towns of the island are hard to place without a map at hand, the stories about their feuds (and all the smaller town feuds, and all the feuds with cities on the boot of Italy or on the African coast) were just a confusing mess. A map or 20 would have helped as Sicily was passed around like a hot potato from Spain to France to various and sundry rulers of parts of what would become Italy and Germany.As a scholarly work, I'm sure it's impeccable, but from a reader's standpoint, it's zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
John Julius Norwich, renowned for his history of Byzantium, recounts the complex intertwining of cultures that is Sicily with wit and clarity. Fascinating and entertaining.
I actually listened to the audio version during my commute. The ancient history, especially the mant Greek and Carthaginian struggles early on we're not as gripping unless that is where your interest lies, but it was really quite gripping once the Romans and Normans showed up on the scene. This narrative, although moving quickly through history and only pausing on the most relevant or dramatic bits, did a good job of tying in Italian and European history to lend relevance and a point of reference for those with an interest in history but no specific knowledge of the region.
very in depth and complete history of Sicily - readable style
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