Memory and the Mediterranean

Rating:
Summary: Blend of geographic, commercial, and "traditional" histories
Review: As a cofounder of the Annales school of history (which included such scholars as Marc Bloch, Georges Duby, and Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie), Braudel helped to define and popularize economic and social history, often relegating political events and intellectual developments--"the actions of a few princes and rich men [who] were more acted upon than actors"--to lesser status in the march of history. So this posthumously published survey of Mediterranean history is something of a surprise. While its pages contain expected, brilliant analyses of the geographic factors, commercial considerations, and technological advances that eventually created a politically cohesive if culturally splintered Mediterranean civilization, its final chapters allot noticeable space to the importance of statesmen, philosophers, and artists.

Braudel's broad coverage is understandable, given the original design and purpose of the book. Written in the late 1960s, the manuscript was meant as a general survey, the first volume in a cancelled series of illustrated books on the history of the Mediterranean. What's remarkable is how well the book has stood up over time. (A small number of notes correct suppositions since proved inaccurate or incomplete.) What's missing, however, is an appropriate selection of illustrations--and the text was clearly meant to accompany them. Although this edition includes 32 (quite striking) full-color pages of photographs, they are not keyed to the text and many have only tangential connections.

"Memory and the Mediterranean" begins with the archaeological discoveries that inform what we know about the Paleolithic era and the Neolithic civilizations (such as Catal Hoyuk) in the Fertile Cresent. Subsequent chapters discuss Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Crete, before turning to the relatively "dark ages" of the twelfth through eighth centuries B.C. By incorporating North African and Asian influences, Braudel deliberately moves the center of Mediterranean culture from Europe to where it belongs: in the center of the Mediterranean.

Before tackling the Greek "miracle" and the Roman empire, Braudel examines the Phoenicians, the Etruscans, and Greek colonization in what is unquestionably the best argued, most informative chapter of the book. He ably shows how historical trends--geography, natural disasters, migrations, commerce, maritime advances, science and technology, writing--led to the dominance enjoyed by the Romans in the coastal lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.

Yet this dominance was neither inevitable or preordained. While "the destiny of Rome is devastatingly simple. . . , people, events and details complicated the story." Braudel balances his own brand of geographic determinism with an acknowledgment of the muscle of Roman imperialism: "the very fact that the Mediterranean, while in thrall to Rome, was still a living entity with a healthy pulse of its own, meant that all its cultural goods continued to circulate, mingling ideas and beliefs, and bring about a uniformity in material civilization that has left traces still visible today." The result is a new way of thinking about a Mediterranean culture whose echoes are still seen everywhere.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent synthesis
Review: Braudel weaves together natural history and human history in a seamless garment. He is skillful at demonstrating how the Mediterranean environment impacted and helped create the civilizations that formed the basis for Western culture. The author's great insight, that Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures are part of a Mediterranean whole, is summarized brilliantly in this book. An essential synthesis after a reader has gotten to know the three great ancient civilizations.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent survey through Roman times.....
Review: Fernand Braudel is thought by many to be the greatest historian of the 20th Century. MEMORY AND THE MEDITERRANEAN certainly supports this contention, as it reveals a comprehensive understanding of a complex area over many thousands of years. Published after his death, M&M was originally written in the 1960s, although much of the text was updated before Braudel's death in 1985. Roselyne de Ayala and Paule Braudel edited the text published in 2001. Furthermore, Françoise Galtier, Chief Curator in the Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquties at the Louvre and Jean-Louis Huot, Professor at the University of Paris read sections of the book and provided comments concerning current thinking on various issues (footnoted in an appendix).

I found Braudel's book extremely well written and easy to read (translation by Siân Reynolds). I think anyone with a keen interest in this area and period could follow this narrative. I have a personal interest in goddess-centered religions, so I was very pleased to see that Braudel covered this topic throughout his narrative. In addition, the book contains a nice section of photographs of "Images of Religion" with numerous examples of female goddesses. For those interested in technological issues, the book includes a nice photographic section showing various sailing vessels. A good but not perfect section of maps has been added at the back of the book. There are some technical errors (page numbers of illustrations, etc. incorrectly noted), but I suggest the editors examined content, not publication niceties (copy editing just ain't what it used to be!!). Because Braudel covers the Middle East from the Neolithic period to the Romans, his book nicely complements Bernard Lewis' HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST which covers the past 2,000 years, beginning with the Romans and is also relatively easy to follow.

Whether he intended to or not (and I believe he did), Braudel makes the case that s/he who is uninformed about the history of the Mediterranean is badly informed indeed Although he covers many aspects of the Mediterranean past, Braudel's major focus is the Levant and Greece and their interaction. Over several millennia, hundreds of civilizations formed and dissolved in this ancient and tortured land. Apparently, warring parties and/or outsiders never learned to leave well enough alone. None of the conquerors left a lasting impression, not even the Greeks who held the Levant for thousands of years.

I enjoyed this book because Braudel wrote with the confidence of one who understood his subject well. Although he does not spend a great deal of time on any single person or group, he provides numerous citations for those who wish to follow up on various aspects of his discussion. I think the book provides an excellent overview of a complex place and is a must for anyone seeking the big picture of past times and an understanding of the current predicament in the Middle East..

Rating:
Summary: Mediterranean social history by a master
Review: Fernand Braudel was one of the gurus of Mediterranean history. Many of the themes he pioneered in his classic book, "The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II" (1949?), he later applied to the history of the world in general, themes like the overlapping of civilizations and geography's relationship to history. "Memory and the Mediterranean" is a manuscript he set aside and never finished. In it, he explores some of the above themes in ancient times.

Starting with the prehistoric period and finishing with Rome, this is a strictly social history. It says hardly anything about politics or important people, which has been covered elsewhere. (If you're looking for a book about Antony and Cleopatra, this is not for you.) Instead, Braudel analyzes two things: the relationship between ancient Mediterranean societies and their physical surroundings, and the basic unity of those societies as identifiably "Mediterranean". What is it that makes a society Mediterranean, Braudel asks. What do all Mediterranean societies have in common? His famous theory that the Mediterranean world is all basically one is still controversial, but he argues it well.

Additionally, his writing style is fluid and he keeps the reader interested in the subject. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: History Gliding Over the Sea
Review: Memory and the Mediterranean is a wonderful read. The author, Fernand Braudel (as translated by Sian Reynolds from a text edited by Roselyne de Ayala and Paule Braudel), uses all the skills that have made him renowned as one of the more important historians of the twentienth century in this venture. This book was the first volume of a planned series about the history of the Mediterranean by different authors with this volume being the first. The series never happened and this book was, therefore, never published during the author's lifetime. It is to our benefit that it is now being published posthumously. The history begins prior to Neolothic and takes the reader through to the Roman Empire. There is wonderful writing, many moments of humour and the strongly held opinions of a historian who has earned his stubbornness. Some of the earlier ideas have been challenged or, even, defeated by later archeology but these are explained in the end notes as not to disrupt the wonderful flow of the narrative. The chapter on the Greeks, particularly the pre- and early classical period, is the most interesting. A book of this type covers too large a time period for any significant analysis but this book is effective as a journey, through both history and history writing.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent history writing
Review: Other reviewers have addressed the subject matter, I'd add that his approach might have as much to do with how enjoyable this book is as the material he covers. This book (and I'm assuming, his others) isn't just a recounting of the lives of major figures, retellings of major battles, etc - i.e. history as he tells it isn't just a trivial-pursuit collection of dramatic events.

Instead, he is careful to put historical change in the context of how it actually happens - usually gradual developments over long periods of time, the slow social transformations that take place, with context always playing a large role. Braudel does a good job conveying this, and it makes the truly dramatic events that much more significant.

I also had the feeling that he was being very honest with the reader, pointing out the places where there is contention among historians or archaeologists, and not wasting our time with differing viewpoints when when there's general agreement.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent history writing
Review: Other reviewers have addressed the subject matter, I'd add that his approach might have as much to do with how enjoyable this book is as the material he covers. This book (and I'm assuming, his others) isn't just a recounting of the lives of major figures, retellings of major battles, etc - i.e. history as he tells it isn't just a trivial-pursuit collection of dramatic events.

Instead, he is careful to put historical change in the context of how it actually happens - usually gradual developments over long periods of time, the slow social transformations that take place, with context always playing a large role. Braudel does a good job conveying this, and it makes the truly dramatic events that much more significant.

I also had the feeling that he was being very honest with the reader, pointing out the places where there is contention among historians or archaeologists, and not wasting our time with differing viewpoints when when there's general agreement.

Rating:
Summary: Updated to reflect recent discoveries
Review: This general history of the Mediterranean traces Mediterranean area history from its earliest geological roots to the civilizations which flourished later. Memory And The Mediterranean originally was written in the late 1960s but has been set aside until now, updated to reflect recent archaeological discoveries in the region.