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Title: The Basque History of the World  Author: Mark Kurlansky Publisher: Vintage Random House, 2000 ISBN: 0 09 928413 8 (0 09 924813 0 from January 2007) Reviewer: Alastair Rosie Mention Basques to anyone and they will think of one of two things, food or ETA. I must confess that I associated the Basques with ETA's bombing campaign of the 70s. The Basques however are Europe's oldest living language group, with no relationship to any of the Indo European languages from the past few thousand years. Interestingly enough, we have no place of origin for the Basques. What is documented is a continual Basque influence on European and American culture and Kurlansky's book certainly exposes the myths and prejudices. It is a small book but covers a vast span of history from 300 BC when the Carthaginians first encountered the Vascones, through to the present day. Interspersed with lively anecdotes, it is an enjoyable read although I found, as a student of history, that the inserted anecdotes had a tendency to distract from the actual history. But that in itself is a minor criticism, this reads like an oral history in the great tradition of Celtic history. We are introduced to the Vascones from Vasconia, who had already served as mercenaries for the Greeks and did the same for Carthage during the Punic Wars. Pacified by the Romans, they remained autonomous, one of the few tribes to attain this status, until the arrival of the Visigoths and the Moors. Kurlansky has succeeded in rewriting history, bearing in mind that Franco and various rulers before him tried with varying degrees of success to either eradicate or crush the Basques. Indeed much of the controversy surrounding the Basques would seem to come from Spanish propaganda. Franco receives his just deserts in Kurlansky's history, being portrayed as nothing more than an opportunistic turncoat who switched sides when the war went against the Axis Powers. Does the book succeed in painting the Basques in a different light however? History is nothing more than a collection of stories written down and archived for future generations. In that respect, history is a one sided record of events. If we believed Franco then the Basques were determined to overthrow the Spanish republic. If we were to believe Kurlansky, then the Basques were equally determined to maintain their autonomy and Kurlansky doesn't wander into whitewash territory with ETA, thankfully. In retrospect it represents a turning point, a marker pointing to a different version of history, one that has the Basques not only defending their land against invaders, but also engaging the outside world, contributing vital improvements to social engineering, capitalism and shipbuilding, just to mention a few contributions. Kurlansky doesn't paint them as saints or heroic underdogs, but as fallible human beings, just as capable of good and evil as the rest of us. In that respect the book succeeds brilliantly in taking us into the land of the Basques and reeducating us. The book is sprinkled with Basque recipes too, for the more culinary minded. I found however that the final chapter about the killing of a Basque pig could either have been left out or prefaced with a warning. It is not for the faint hearted and although it is part of their culture, there are some things that are anathema to Western sensibilities and cruelty to animals is one of them. Overall I would give this an eight of ten, the killing of the pig cost it two points! Written by Alastair Rosie Title: Snapshots, Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain  Author: Eva Kende ISBN: 0-9691659-3-5 Publisher: Try Kay Enteprises Reviewer: Alastair Rosie Snapshots. Fifty years ago a ragtag group of student revolutionaries rose in revolt against the mightiest army in Eastern Europe. Their courage was admired from afar and emboldened by their supporters in the west, they held out for a few weeks until the relentless iron wheels of the Soviet army crushed the revolt mercilessly. Hungary would not see freedom again until the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s. There have been many books written about life behind the mysterious Iron Curtain that spread across Europe for the latter half of the 20th century, but none are as poignant as Eva Kende's Snapshots. In spite of horrific brutalisation by Soviet authorities, her family managed to eke a living from the morsels thrown by cold calculating officials. She has not lapsed into anti Russian bile either, but has painted individual Russian soldiers as being human beings; after all, war is the inabililty to see another's humanity. Beginning with a history of her grandmother she has related stories of the First World War and Second World War, continuing through to the Communist takeover and life behind the Iron Curtain using the literary form of essays. The events she relates are all the more memorable because they are such ordinary events, the day to day comings and goings of people trying desperately to survive and inject a little humanity into their lives, whilst suffering under a system that discouraged individuality. I found the book an eye opener and a bit of a tear jerker, a fitting tribute to the revolutionaries who rose against the Soviets in 1956. History is often written by objective writers and historians with no real contact with the historical times about which they are writing. Eva lived through these times and it is this authoritarian stamp that marks this book as a true account of life behind the Iron Curtain. I can remember the Cold War paranoia, the reds under the beds syndrome, followed by the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the old Soviet Empire. Tyranny is allowed to continue throughout the world because good men do nothing, so the old proverb runs. Eva has painted the system of communism without any recourse to political correctness. Our political leaders would do well to read this book when doing deals with tyrants or making mandatory immigration laws without looking at the true facts. An outstanding read and a fitting tribute to freedom. Available here
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