Kurlansky is a lively, readable travel writer/raconteur sort of author. Unfortunately this book is as much history as it is description of a culture, and his knowledge and understanding of history are superficial and occasionally grotesquely wrong. His style is to mingle descriptions of modern Basque culture and landscapes with tidbits of history gleaned from more-reputable history books (sometimes genuinely embarrassingly mangled- eg: "But in 75 B.C., the handsome and elegant Pompey, a favorite of Rome and commander of forces loyal to the emperor..."), and with bits of legends or popular understandings of history, and to bind the whole together with odd, aggrandizing non sequiturs that would sometimes come across as delusionally ultranationalist if it were a Basque writing them (eg: "In the long Basque memory, the Roman Empire is considered a good period... Today, Basques still refer to this time as an example of how they would like to peacefully coexist with larger powers.") By far the best parts of the book are the parts where Kurlansky is writing from personal experience or direct testimony from acquaintances- but they're a relatively small fraction of the text. His affection and sympathy for the Basque culture, language, and political struggles are entirely sincere, and endearing, but they lead him to untenable places of mythologization, and idealization, and the sort of bizarre non sequiturs noted above (another one: "The Basques seem to be a mythical people, almost an imagined people.").

Part of why he seems to have so much fondness for Basque culture is that parts of it are endearingly exotic to someone who didn't grow up with it- which is fine, and true of most any culture. But he takes this to the point of recreating a sort of fervent ethnic nationalism by the back door- over-exoticizing the Basques compared to their neighbors, and treating them as a coherent and constant ethnic group for millennia; every idea or tradition has to have roots in time immemorial. It's not great.

The guy should've just stuck to writing a travelogue.

I fell in love with Basque Country after my research visit on gastrophysics at Basque Culinary Center last year autumn with Prof Charles Spence from Oxford Uni and Josef Youseff of Kitchen Theory. Two weeks is definitely not enough. I had been so enthralled with language, food, culture and music there that I decided to come back again soon. While preparing my next journey, I found several books from Mark Kurlansky abt Basque Country. Bingo! Just what I wanted. I enjoyed the explaination, engaging facts and history about Basque. I remembered loving the pronounciation of txocolate and kaixo. Basque shared several words that similar to Armenian and Malay. Are the Malays from here? That's my second question. Troka-explore, rasa - taste and many more. When I discovered about their folk music how close their polyphonic to our Johorean berzanji! Splendid! Basque language is the only pre-romanic language that still in existence. To Mark Kurlansky thank you so much, your books helped me on my research on neurogastronomy, ancient food and ancient polyphonics, Eskerri Asko!

Excel·lent història d'Euskal Herria, des dels orígens fins els nostres dies, incloent apunts sobre cultura, costums, gastronomia,... Llibre realitzat per una persona que s'ha documentat ampliament sobre el país i que demostra que se l'estima. Lectura necessària per conèixer les característiques de la societat basca.

I read this book before traveling throughout the Spanish Pais Vasco for a month. It absolutely prepared me to experience Basque culture in the best way possible. Every museum I visited and conversation I had with locals brought to mind at least one thing I'd learned in this book. I loved how Kurlansky tells a broader "history of the world" through the lens of the Basques so that the reader ends up learning about Spanish history in a broader sense as well.

Having lived fairly near the Basque country many years ago, this book served as an incredibly valuable augmentation to the knowledge I already had of the region. In fact, it brought together the fragments of my knowledge and experience and knitted them logically together. Kurlansky's exploration of this remarkable culture is thoroughly researched; it's clear he understands the culture. Interspersed in the telling of the history are recipes and discussions of food preparation. At first this might seem strange, until one realizes that this is, in fact, the ideal way to discuss Basque culture. Food is paramount in Basque society and it is integrated tightly into the culture. The influence Basqueland has had on the development of the modern world (in all areas) and the horrors the Basque people have faced at the hands of its repressors (i.e. at Guernica, as per the great Picasso painting) are all carefully described in this tome, and provided me a wonderful, easy to read history of a fascinating corner of the world.

I live in Wales and there are similar issues here as in the Basque country - We have a certain regional autonomy after devolution, there is a strong national feeling and independence movement, it is an industrial heartland and there is a strong tradition and language, populated by a fiercely proud people. I felt that it would be interesting to study the Basques as their struggle tucked in a small borderland between France and Spain is most certainly an interesting one. This book is well written and has a lot of variety, covering history, culture, traditions, political events and even cookery. The more ancient history of Euskadi I found particularly thrilling and most of the information was new to me. As a language student I found the details on the Euskadi language and its history and development fascinating. The struggles against in particular the Spanish state are well-documented and the independence movement culminating in the rise of the infamous ETA can be understood from a Basque perspective, though without being overly biased. Franco's commitment against regionalism is contrasted with the autonomous areas which came about through democracy and accession to the European Union. The differences and similarities between the French and Spanish sides of the region are well covered, with their great historical characters such as Ignacio Loyola well mentioned. The importance of their land as an industrial and commercial centre from its days as a great fishing community to its rise through the industrial revolution. The occasional Basque recipes thrown in for detail are pleasant interjections and show that the author is a accustomed to writing about this topic in his other works. It's a shame the book hasn't been updated to cover the last decade where there have been developments in the Basque land, with more autonomy granted and ETA having declared a permanent ceasefire. The book is a great overall study and introduces plenty of further cultural refeneces which I may take an interest in researching.

I've read several Kurlansky books over the the past decade (Cod, Salt, Milk, Paper, The Big Oyster, Food of a Younger Land, The Last Fish Tale) and I always enjoy them. This book on the Basques is no different. An absolutely fascinating read filled with Kurlansky's usual bits of detail and evidence that explain the subject so thoroughly that you are left feeling like you could really hold your own in a conversation on the subject if you had to.

The Basque people are an ancient people without a country, although they occupy seven regions in both Spain and France in the western Pyrenees. Kurlansky helps us understand that they are defined by their language first and foremost. They are secondarily, but just as important, defined by traditions of food, song, dance, gender role, their definition of home, and most fiercely, their right to exist and govern themselves. Many different ruling people have imposed their will on the Basques to disastrous ends from the Romans, the Germans, Italians, to Franco and the current Spanish government in Madrid. It's unfortunate that we think of ETA when we think of the Basques instead of the other characteristics that define this ancient people, like seafaring, industrial steel, or even agriculture. Kurlansky is very pro Basque, even when it comes to the terrorism of the ETA, but I feel he is fair in this judgment. His research helps us understand why such an organization has come to be.

I highly recommend the book, especially if you like Kurlansky's other books.

Lovely historical survey of the Basque people and their culture. Feel I understand a bit better what sets these people apart from every other group in Europe. Don't fuck with the Basques basically.

An interesting, historical look into Northern SPAIN.

I was very interested in the Basque country after I learned that my family (ARMIJO) can be traced as early as the 13th Century to Laredo, Spain, a small resort beach town in the heart of Basque land. I learned a lot & reflected on a few customs that have been carried over in my family...for example, love of sardines & pride in my Spanish heritage. This was quite interesting to learn about the long history of the Basque people. It's amazing to realize that it is quite likely that the Basque people may very well be the first known Europeans.
I strongly recommend this for any one visiting Northern Spain, any historian interested in Europe &/or any one of Spanish ancestry. I recently (Oct. 2002) visited Laredo, Spain, Zaragoza, Spain (The Armijo Palace) and Biarritz, France...I felt at home and safe in these areas.

So jealous that Krystel is part Basque

Mark Kurlansky will not shut up about food recipes and I could not finish this book. He comes close to mythologising the Basques, and claims that the more mysterious something is, the more Basque it is. The way he writes history is terribly bland, and frankly makes it impossible to follow. He attempts to take on more information than he can handle, and mostly writes about boring, uninteresting and superfluous events. I'll try to read the last part, which deals with recent history.

As far as I'm concerned, this book was written with the scraps of information he couldn't fit into 'Cod: Biography of the Fish That Changed the World'. Perhaps Cod is good, but The Basque History of the World is not, at all. Unless you are looking new mysterious, mythical Cod recipes.

The one corner of Europe I knew nothing about.