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After reading Norwich’s book on Venice, I looked at his other books, and saw one on the Mediterranean that looked interesting. However, most of the reviews for it said it was okay, but Abulafia’s The Great Sea was much better, so I put that on my wishlist instead, and got it for Christmas.

It’s a large, expansive, book, covering from prehistory to the current day (2010). Abulafia purposefully tries to limit the scope of his book by sticking to subjects that impinge directly on the Mediterranean as a whole; the communities on it’s shores, the trade that crosses its surface, the rivalries and the piracy. It is a general history, and doesn’t really have any defining thesis, other than perhaps the one his book is organized around. The book is split into five parts (titled ‘The First Mediterranean’, ‘The Second Mediterranean’, and so on), with each part being about a single economic complex in the Mediterranean.

Many parts are familiar to those familiar with history, but along the way there are plenty of new things to see. I had not known of the ancient ruins on Malta, nor the entire nature of Allied frustrations dealing with French North Africa. The third and second-to-last chapters are depressing, as they cover the destruction of several multicultural communities in the lead up to WWI through the aftermath of WWII. The final chapter takes a quick look at how mid-20th century emigration spread southern Italian cuisine to the rest of the world, and then talks of the impact of tourism on the Mediterranean.

In all, it is a broad book that manages a surprising amount of depth, and an enjoyable read.