The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation

This is a great all around prep book for visiting Basque country. I then took it with me on my trip.....and everywhere I went in San Sebastian, Bilbao, etc people said: 'Oh, yes.....Kurlansky is far and away the best book about Basque country.' Any questions?

The Basques certainly deserve their own history, even if this retelling is highly subjective and not objectively historical. Kurlansky seems more in the business of giving clues to the Basque world without spelling everything out. The importance of home or "etxea" in the Basque mindset is explained, as are the resurgences of Basque languages (there seems to be more than one,) and nationalism. The devolution of some aspect of that nationalism into pure violence, and the terrorism of the ETA, is not developed. But the Basque identities of historical figures like Saint Ignatius Loyola and the writer Miguel De Unamuno are satisfyingly explained, as are the differences between later Basque leaders like Sabino Arano, and the chief executive in exile during WWII, Aguirre. Beyond that it's a bit of a hodge-podge, going from the development of Basque trade and industry with the Americas, the creation of the dish "pil-pil," the roots of Basque theology, and the significance of Guernica both as the center of Basque identity and as the victim of the staggering attack by Franco during the Spanish Civil War. And of course, the other reviewer is right. Ferdinand and Isabella had several children, the most significant of which are Juana La Loca and Katherine of Aragon who was the unfortunate first wife of England's Henry VIII. Kurlansky got that wrong, but I assumed he was oversimplifying.

Mark Kurlansky, author of 'The Basque History of the World' (Jonathan Cape; 1999) presents one of the most accomplished books on Basque history ever written in English. Kurlansky blends human stories with cultural, political and culinary history. He, like many other authors is attracted by the challenge of the survival of this small country throughout thousands of years.Kurlansky reveals a different point of view on the Basque people, far from the stereotypes imposed by many modern journalists. The author, as a journalist himself, highlights the Basque's outstanding impact on Europe's historical evolution. "No word less describes Basques than the term separatist...Considering how small a group the Basques are, they have made remarkable contributions to world history", Kurlansky adds.The modern Basque Country represents a human group constituted by hardly three million people lost in the swarms of the great humancrowds. A significant fact of the Basque Country is the tenacity for the historical survival, its touch of distinction for the cultural creation, and its collective memory for the development of a social identity. While the world has entered into the Third Millennium, over 650,000 people are speaking a language, Euskera, whose roots can be found in the Stone Age (6,000BC). The Basque sociologist Ruiz de Olabuenaga argues that "something that had defined and is still defining men and women of the Basque society is the conviction that we ourselves must create our own future and that the excellence of the history of this country can be lost. We are a small country but solid, intense, passionate between the unconditional fidelity to our tradition and themaximum compromise to the ambiguity of the future". Kurlansky summarizes the aspiration of the Basque people for such historical survival in the final sentence of his book: 'Garean gareana legez' - 'Let us be what we are' - (from Esteban de Garibay, Basque Historian, XVIthC).P. J. Oiarzabal, HistorianReno, Nevada, September 2001

The approximately 2.5 million basques that live in the western Pyrenees spread across a few Spanish and French provinces (the vast majority in Spain), do indeed have a lot to be proud of. As a start, being different is something that people are always happy to claim about themselves. This is most definitely true about the basques. THE BASQUE HISTORY OF THE WORLD is quick to tell us that it is their history that basques are most proud of. An ancient people, their arrival in Iberia may not be from paleolithic times as descendants of Cro-Magnon man as their myths say, but they certainly arrived long before the French and Spanish did; and although their lands have been invaded and ruled by many, starting with the Romans, the basques have always managed to maintain a fair degree of autonomy. Once the discussion switches to politics, the potential for Mr Kurlansky to slip is great. One of the dangers for writers who become enamoured with the people they research and the places they visit, is that they can end up glamorizing the culture. The finest travel writers such as Theroux, Matthiessen, Naipaul, and Bryson are all aware of this and maintain balance - admiration but also admonishment where appropriate. The danger for Mr Kurlansky is that in talking about basque nationalism and the origins of ETA, the book has the potential for being seen as an apology for the basque terrorist group. Only potential though as Mr Kurlansky explains the political motivations for ETA but is far more interested in highlighting the many reasons why basque is so much more than a word hyphenated as - seperatist.Mr Kurlansky tells us about basque cuisine. Basques are great fishermen and excellent cooks and there are recipes here to prove it. Other interesting aspects of basque culture discussed are the Atlantic whaling and cod fish industry, why there are a preponderance of Jesuit basques, and the origins of the beret and jai-alai. This rich culture and proud people have an admirer in Mark Kurlansky and he pays them a fitting tribute with this book.