The World: A Family History
Review of a colossal work made by Simon Sebag Montefiore and notes from his presentation at Canterbury!
Let’s start with the introductions
Simon Sebag Montefiore is a British bestselling and prize-winning writer of history and fiction books. He worked as a banker, historian, foreign affairs journalist, and a war correspondent covering the conflicts during the fall of the Soviet Union.
What an interesting blend!
The presentation was at Waterstones in Canterbury, led by the amazing bookseller and historian Martin Latham, thanks to him I had the chance to ask some interesting questions at the meeting.
The World
If you can’t find the book you are looking for, write it
These are the words with which Simon started his talk, What an inspiring thought!
Published by Orion Publishing Co in 2022, The World: A Family History is a massive effort to tell history (from as early as we know), through its most influential families.
It’s divided into “Acts”, starting as early as the 23rd century BC, to the modern days.
Each chapter mentions the world population (estimated), and as the Washington Independent mentions:
there is a sense of Everything, Everywhere, All at Once throughout, given the often small hinges on which humankind’s path swings.
As you can imagine not everything can fit into one book, and as the author says, it is indeed a work of synthesis and the product of a lifetime reading.
Interesting facts are contained like how most of the European monarchies descent from Charlemagne, Renaissance Popes pet peeves, and how Napoleon sorted his family out in the aristocracy and power positions.
These facts let readers (including myself) empathize with people who helped shape historical events and were shaped by them. They have hopes, fears, lusts and ambitions that are familiar, even if they are manifest in ways that border on the psychopathic.
Each section has integrative notes and I have to say, in quite strategic places. This makes the reading flow nicely and you can jump in and out of the book as you see fit.
I really appreciated the Index at the end. If you are looking for a specific topic, name or country, you just need to search for it and takes you to the pages where is mentioned.
What works and what doesn’t?
To be frank, in the West, we do not study Asian history as in-depth as the European one. Normally we reserve it for higher studies like master's or Ph.Ds. Hence, I was really pleased to see the great dynasties of China and India being covered, along with many other countries like Japan and Korea.
This book can serve as a great guide for further studies, to any newcomer to the history world, as much as an experienced one.
However, I remained perplexed about one thing the author mentioned.
To write this book I did have to drown some kittens
Mr. Montefiore has an Italian surname, which dates back more than 5 generations, but he does not pay due respect to it. Why do I say so? Well, the Kingdom of Naples, which spans 600 years of history has hardly been mentioned.
Naples was the most populous city in the world before London took over, Its engineers invented the maritime code and the legislators ( see Filangieri) helped Franklin and Washington draft the American Constitution.
The monarchies of the kingdom shaped the politics of the 17th,18th and 19th Centuries and experienced the first republican experiments after the French Revolution.
I find it odd, and quite superficial that it was not included appropriately in his book, only to find it in some side margin notes.
However, at signature time, Mr. Sebag did redeem himself by apologizing in writing on my book copy!
What an elegant gesture, a true gentleman.
Conclusion
That said, I find the book a good read and a perfect refresh for historians and new researchers. Direct sources where possible have been used, the writing style is fluid and the tone is relaxed.
At the price it retails it is a must-buy, either digital or paperback. I do recommend the paperback version though, as it is handy to go back and forth in between notes.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email or the comment section below.
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