This is more than just a history of the Basque countries. It describes centuries of conflicts between the Basque people and various invaders - Roman, Moor, French and Spanish. Through most of the history the basque managed to retain their unique culture and language, despite often being overrun and outnumbered by other cultures. Today only a small (but loud) minority speak Euskera and a majority of the population has at least one grand parent who's not of basque origin (something that was an early criterion for basquehood). Still - the basque language has seen something of a revival after about half a century of being officially banned.
The book focuses on the Spanish basque provinces, and mentions the French part only in passing. Traditionally the French basque parts have been an agricultural backwater with some nice beaches for tourists, whereas the Spanish parts have always been economically important to Madrid, first as seafarers and shipbuilders, and later as iron smelters and steel makers. This meant that while the French government mostly handled the Basques with benign neglect (apart from sending in French-speaking teachers and in effect relegating basqueness from 'rebelious' to 'quaint') — the Spanish needed to develop the industry and keep the wheels moving. This resulted in a fairly small, but very vocal group of rebels, most famously as ETA, which despite being very small (comprising about 70 active members at the high-water mark) managed to spread fear throughout.

Some interesting stuff about the Basques, but not one of Kurlansky's best - overall seems like a bunch of facts/speculations about Basque people.

This book explains a lot. We live in an area of France that is either within or on the edge of the French Basque country (depending upon who you ask). The book explains the roadblocks and car searches that we have encountered while crossing the Pyrenees into Spain. I remember the first time we drove to Bilbao. It it a dense urban area with large factories and huge rusting steel plants. And I had this romantic idea that the Pays Basque was a land of small farmers, goat herders and cheese artisans. Who knew that it was the Pittsburgh and Northern Ireland of Spain? And what were we to think when an ETA arms cache was found up the road from our village? The Basque History of the World explains all of this. I'll never drive through this area of Northern Spain without thinking back to this book. Merci beaucoup. Mucho gracias.

While perhaps not the most well written book (and I do not purport to know how accurate his fact telling is), this book was immensely interesting to me. I'm visiting Basque country this summer and I found myself furiously taking notes about certain aspects of Basque culture. It was a great primer for me, someone who came into the book with very limited knowledge of the Basque people.

My interest in linguistics also predisposed me to totally eating up the sections about the Basque language, Euskera, which is totally unrelated to Spanish or any other language on the planet for that matter.

Also of great magnitude to me as a foodie was the discussion of gateau basque, dried cod, peppers, pil pil, Itxassou cherries, and more.

Last week when I arrived in San Sebastián, I was instantly fascinated by the Basques, who had until then been completely unknown to me. What was the deal with the mysterious flag, inscrutable language, ubiquitous displays of solidarity with the Palestinians, and obsession with some burnt cheesecake? I found this book in a local bookstore (luckily in English), went up to the top Mount Urgell, and began reading with a beautiful view of the Bay of Biscay. It did not take me long to realize that the Basques are an amazing people with a long and rich history. This was a joy to read and undoubtedly gave me a unique appreciation for the place I was staying in.

Anything by Kurlansky is rich and beautifully written. His book about the Basques is especially memorable for its historical and cultural perspectives. Kurlansky is not only a good storyteller; he is also a fine researcher who provides evidence to document his finely woven histories. Having spent time in Basque country, his work helped me to appreciate the people and gave me a sense of place.

We’re taking a trip to Basque Country so I wanted to learn some of the history behind their fascinating culture. This book was exactly what I was looking for. The author starts with the prehistoric past of the basque and works all the way to the present day. The writing is good and I thought they did a great job of highlighting lots of interesting aspects of basque culture. I also through the conclusion was well laid out. Essentially he contrasts the basques, who have fought so hard for their sovereignty, with France and Spain, who joined the European Union and gave up power so easily. While I can’t say that it’s a perfect comparison, I still thought it was an interesting point. One other thing I liked was that he sprinkles in some recipes for some of the traditional basque dishes throughout the book. The only critique I would make is that the history from the late 19the century onward got very convoluted and hard to follow with so many names and dates. I would have recommended. Arriving the focus down and go into more detail on fewer figures. Overall I definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the Basques!

Fascinating read - wish I had read before visiting the Basque Country in spring of last year. Being there, I felt a tremendous sense of curiosity about this distinctive culture, which doesn’t explain itself easily to the passing tourist. This book, written from an outsider’s perspective, gives an eclectic look into centuries of Basque history. The early bits are especially interesting for the myriad trivia they contain. When the book gets to 20th century, it switches gears and becomes full of names, dates, historical moments. It’s no less interesting, but a slower read from there on out.
I agree with other readers who have noted that Kurlansky glosses over the violence of ETA by giving shallow sketches underlying the numbers and focusing on repression of Basque communities and political prisoners in turn - I can only imagine that he was trying to balance the scales in showing the state violence and the historical roots of beliefs that led to violence, as these were less covered by world media during the ETA years, but it does not feel like an evenhanded account.

First choice of the Kurlansky's I'd like to re-read.

"KIRKUS REVIEW

A comprehensive view of all things Basque, from the author of Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World (1997). The Basque History of the World is an honorable title, alerting readers to its singularly Basque-centric mix of cultural studies, history, and politics. The writing is direct and accessible, although limited by the occasional descriptive clichÇ (—jagged mountains” and “crisp fall days—). It’s most interesting when describing the periods when Basque history intersects with the history of the larger world. For example, in a section on the Spanish Civil War, Kurlansky utilizes quotes from survivors of the 1937 bombing of Guernica by Franco’s forces, the first large-scale use of air power against a civilian population, to create a sense of suspense, dread, and terror. The bravery of members of the Basque underground, who helped over 700 downed Allied fliers escape from Nazi-occupied territory to England during WWII, is also depicted through compelling first-person recollections. The last third of the book, covering the post-WWII period and the radicalization of a faction of the Basque independence movement, is most problematic. While Kurlansky adeptly explains the logic for Basque autonomy and presents the most radical wings” justification for its historical use of terrorism, his analysis too often accepts the Basque view at face value and offers no independent perspective. Perhaps this is because Kurlansky is enamored of his subject, especially the Basque language, Euskera. Euskera warrants attention, as it’s a unique non-Indo-European language with no known linguistic relatives. Kurlansky knows the Basques well and includes many entertaining anecdotes, myths, and facts about them, all of which reflect a quaint Basque chauvinism. According to the author, the Basque are: probably the original Europeans, the first Europeans to cultivate tobacco, the first bankers in Spain, the most devout Catholics in the world, and among the inventors of beach resorts. In its entirety, this is an informative but ethnocentric history that readers should approach with their critical faculties intact."

Tytuł "Baskijska historia świata" wydawał mi się pewną sprzecznością: to w końcu ma być to historia świata? Czy historia Basków? A może historia świata według Basków? Po lekturze muszę przyznać, że jednak oddaje on idealnie treść książki. Autor przybliża nam historię Basków, jednak zawsze w kontekście: w kontekście historii Półwyspu Iberyjskiego, Hiszpanii i Francji, Europy, a w końcu także tytułowego świata. Baskowie mieli okazję, mimo bycia bardzo małym narodem, brać czynny udział w najważniejszych procesach zachodzących w ostatnich wiekach, takich jak odkrycia geograficzne, kolonizacja Nowego Świata, industrializacja. Podczas lektury nie mamy więc wrażenia, że zajmujemy się małą górską prowincją, tylko uczestniczymy w prawdziwie epickich dziejach globu.

Bardzo spodobał mi się styl pisania Kurlanskyego oraz struktura książki. Autor wiele miejsca poświęca opisowi poszczególnych sytuacji, wydarzeń, miejsc i osób, przez co zamiast monotonnego wykładu otrzymujemy dynamiczną, żywą narrację. W tekst wplecionych jest nawet kilka przepisów kulinarnych. Szczególnie mocną stroną książki jest opis czasów przejściowych między nowożytnością i współczesnością, które zawsze są dla mnie najbardziej zagmatwane i najtrudniejsze do zrozumienia ze współczesnej perspektywy. Więcej miejsca można było z kolei poświęcić ostatniej dekadzie XX wieku, jednak były to lata, w których pozycja ta powstawała, dlatego ciężko zapewne było ocenić ówczesne wydarzenia z odpowiedniej perspektywy.

Polecam nie tylko zainteresowanym Baskami (dobrym wstępem może być tu niedawno wydane "Gure" Katarzyny Mirgos"), książka rzuca także wiele światła na najnowszą historię Hiszpanii, powstanie kapitalizmu, narodziny nowoczesnej polityki i proces budowania tożsamości narodowych oraz nowożytnych państw.

Rating: 3.6* of five

History is the beautiful, brightly lit foam on top of the annihilating tsunami of the unrecorded past. History books are the spectrographic analysis of the light glinting off that foam. Any attempt at making a book more than that is doomed to failure and tedium.

This is not a tedious or failed book. It's just...well...curiously insubstantial. I don't like the focus on the Great and the Good in place of the gestalt of the actions of the Basques. I know, I know, most people can't name their great-grandparents, still less find evidence of their obvious existence, and historians are limited to what documentary evidence exists. But Ignatius Loyola stalled me every time I tried to re-read this book. I hated that jerk when I was confirmed, and given the confirmation saint of St. Charles Borromeo, a major Jesuit figure. I am a flawed being, I admit it...I can't abide hagiography, and I fear Kurlansky's absence of harsh, vituperative judgments thundered down upon the founder of the Jesuits sat ill with me.

But the book is, overall, an attempt to do the extremely difficult: Show the unrecorded points of commonality that linked major events in history, ie the involvement of a people generally overlooked. I suspect the Basques like it that way. I don't know what the Basque majority's opinion was of this book, but I suspect it was well and truly mixed. He's drawing attention to us! Yay! Boo! And often from the same person, I'd bet.

Why such a mingy rating as 3.6 stars? Because...well, because it wasn't anywhere near as much fun to read as I expected it to be.

And Loyola, that rotten sleazebag.

An interesting read on a fascinating people. At times the narrative felt a bit choppy and seemed to jump from one topic to the next, and the information focused much more heavily on the Spanish Basques than the French (which was great for my personal interests, but still seems like an imbalance). Despite this, I still found the book intriguing and informative.