The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation (1999)

by Mark Kurlansky

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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1,313	25	14,559	(3.77)	94
History. Nonfiction. HTML: "The singular remarkable fact about the Basques is that they still exist." Bestselling author Mark Kurlansky says. The Basque people truly believe they should live their own private country. This book includes their entire history, from their political and war involvement, to culinary taste, to economic and social life. Inhabiting the small corner where France meets Spain, the Basque speak their own language, Euskera. Evidence of their culture showed up as early as 218 BC, and now, with a 24 million population, their influence on our world has been all-pervasive. Listeners will be enthralled as Kurlansky delves into the roots of an intriguing population, and shows us why they continue to thrive. .… (more)

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You should clearly realize that the author thoroughly explores local cuisine (as far as providing recipees and ingridients) as narration unfolds. Might become confusing for pure history enthusiasts. (

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Den85 | Jan 3, 2024 |

It was interesting, but not as well written as Salt: A World History. (

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blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |

I picked this off the charity shop shelf because it has a great cover. Only realised when I got it home that it's by the author of "Cod" which was one of the earliest (and best) of the books that cover whole epochs via the lens of a single subject. Enjoyed this one just as much - and learnt a lot, although you don't have to believe everything he writes. Quite a few reviewers found his writing boring but I read it in small chunks over several months and was always engaged. (

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Ma_Washigeri | Jan 23, 2021 |

It was OK. It sort of plodded along very slowly. The chapters didn't seem to be arranged in any particular order that made sense. The writing was dry considering the interesting subject matter. I really wanted to like it more but it was kind of boring. (

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LynnK. | Aug 4, 2020 |

Started the book because of a friend living temporarily in the Basque Country. Interesting how the Basque how preserved a distinct own culture for so long. I would guess at the cost of a lot of internal norms/pressure. A high degree of religiousness. Lost interest after a while. Did not finish. (

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ohernaes | Jan 10, 2020 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Kurlansky, Mark	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Guidall, George	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Distinctions

Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (History – 1999)

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Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1999

People/Characters

Francisco Franco

Roland (The song of Roland)

Important places

Guernica, Basque Country, Spain

Pamplona, Navarre, Spain

(show all 6 items)

Important events

Battle of Ronceveaux Pass

Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To Marian,
who makes life sparkle

First words

The first time I heard the secret tongue, the ancient and forbidden language of the Basques, was in the Hotel Eskualduna in St.-Jean-de-Luz.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Johnson, Charles

Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (11)

Basque breeds and cultivars

Basque literature

Biscay Bay

Filipino nationalism

List of circumnavigations

Pre-industrial armoured ships

Wikipedia:WikiProject Spam/COIReports/2008, Feb 4

▾Book descriptions

History. Nonfiction. HTML:

"The singular remarkable fact about the Basques is that they still exist." Bestselling author Mark Kurlansky says. The Basque people truly believe they should live their own private country. This book includes their entire history, from their political and war involvement, to culinary taste, to economic and social life. Inhabiting the small corner where France meets Spain, the Basque speak their own language, Euskera. Evidence of their culture showed up as early as 218 BC, and now, with a 24 million population, their influence on our world has been all-pervasive. Listeners will be enthralled as Kurlansky delves into the roots of an intriguing population, and shows us why they continue to thrive.

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