The History of Europe in Bite-sized Chunks: Hardcover – 7 Mar. 2019- by Jacob F. Field

This book is a well written and highly readable short history of Europe. The book starts at the very origins of the continent right up to the present day. In order to cover so much history, the book is divided into six easily digestible chapters: Classical Antiquity (2600 BCE to 600 CE); Medieval (600-1500); Reform and Enlightenment (1500-1780); Age of Revolutions (1780-1914); the Wars (1914-45); and lastly the  Making of Contemporary Europe (1945 to present).

The book includes major figures who have shaped both European and world history. Figures include Karl Marx, Julius Caesar, Catherine the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte. The book is well illustrated. Although a few photographs would not have looked out of place. Jacob F. Field manages to cover nearly 5,000 years of world history in less than 200 pages, but anyone looking for more in-depth history will be disappointed.

Sadly anyone looking for history from below will be quickly disillusioned by Field’s book. Despite mentioning the slave trade between Africa and the Americas in the 18th and 19th century which was called the “the largest forced migration in history” with the transport of 9.5 million slaves and the deaths in transit of around two million, Field declines to mention any struggle against tyranny old and new. He covers the Roman empire but does not include the massive slave revolt led by Spartacus. While dealing with revolutions such as the French revolution, he inexplicitly does not mention the Russian revolution.