Book Impressions: The Shortest History of Europe

Author: John Hirst

So, I recently finished reading the book: The Shortest History of Europe. It was a quick 200-page read, but I learned much from it.

One of the most interesting things that the book makes clear is just how profoundly European society is impacted by Roman society. We westerners are Roman! Philosophy, science, engineering, art, religion... Rome left its mark on societies from North Africa, to Northern Europe, from England all the way to Turkey. Its a mistake to think that Rome was just some empire that was powerful 2000 years ago, then fell in the 5th century. Rome is, in many, many ways, still alive. Heck, Europe thought the empire was still alive all the way up until the 19th century!

But even the Romans had those that they looked up to. Its fairly well understood that ancient Greek culture was the basis for Western civilization. The Romans apparently thought that the Greeks were superior in most fields.

The book posits that Western Civilization is broadly supported by three pillars:
Greek and Roman learning, German warrior culture, and Christianity.

The book makes note of two main branches of intellectual thought starting in the 18th century.

The first is enlightenment. Enlightenment was the based on the idea that everything can and should be understood according to reason. This branch of thought started in the salons of Paris. The founding fathers of the United States were men of the Enlightenment.

The second is Romanticism. Romanticism was very much an artistic movement, and put great value in emotion, the past, culture, nature, etc. It was noted that romanticism is the basis for nationalism.

These two movements are in many ways in opposition to each other, and throughout history in a constant struggle.

The book fits a lot of content into 200 pages. It's easy to forget how very interconnected the events of Europe are affected by its past. I'm still a history beginner and an amateur, but this book is a great place to start.

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