Adriatic: A Concert of Civilizations at the End of the Modern Age
[An] elegantly layered exploration of Europe’s past and future ... Adriatic mimics the layered complexity of its subject. This is a multifaceted masterpiece, a glittering excavation of the glories and rubbish heaps of Europe’s past, a meditation on history and the inner journey of traveling with books in mind, a traveler’s elegy for paths taken and not taken, and a conditionally hopeful reflection on Europe’s emerging future.
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One can learn much from this idiosyncratic book, although only a little about the Adriatic ... Kaplan offers the reader a diverse collection of observations, ruminations, narrations and occasional incriminations clustered around a travelogue through cities on or near the eponymous sea ... Weather, landscapes, train rides — all are an invitation for Kaplan to plumb his extensive bibliography of poetry, literature and history. These expositions reveal a wisdom and uncertainty produced by a lifetime of both practical and book learning. It is a wonder to follow Kaplan’s ever-shifting train of thought as it moves ... The historical scope of Kaplan’s canvas is vast, yet he works hard to bring to it the fruits of modern historical scholarship. That is rare among popular authors, and deserves much praise. In my view, as an academic and a specialist on medieval and early modern Venice, Kaplan has gone a long way toward achieving his goal. Academic history is hard — often written in precise and specialized terms for other historians. Undaunted, Kaplan brings to his reader (in digestible forms) scholars ... They enrich his narrative and enliven his descriptions ... And yet. Kaplan’s personal affinity for the Balkans produces a noticeable blind spot when it comes to Venice ... Venetian architecture, especially in Dalmatia and Corfu, is described yet its implications are not ... Kaplan’s medieval Venetians are flat, lifeless and too easily defined ... Kaplan does not go that far, as his approach to Venice and its empire is generally one of benign indifference. And to be sure, apart from this mild oversight, he has written an excellent exploration of the Adriatic’s intriguing geographic and intellectual landscapes.
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[A] labyrinthine political travelogue ... Kaplan serves up his trademark mix of grand geopolitical themes and evocative sightseeing...in prose that brings to mind a freewheeling, movable seminar. Unfortunately, the resulting lessons tend toward trite truisms...rather than substantive insights. This tour through modern Europe is more diverting than essential.
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