This was just a wonderful book, and extremely well written. This is definitely not your father's "history book". It doesn't quite read like a novel (nor should it, some would say), but it's darn close. It's written in such a smooth, flowing and compelling manner that it does draw the reader in and move along in such a way that it does "feel" almost like reading a very exciting work of fiction. I literally could not put this book down. Not only does this book provide a detailed history of the rise (and fall) of Venice, itself, but it explains Venice's ties to the history and development of nearly the entire rest of the world. If I had one criticism, it would be that the text can get a bit flowery and overwrought at times, and the author may seem a bit too "sentimental" or too much the apologist for Venice and the Venitian people. However, having visited Venice myself, I personally can understand this, as I find myself thinking of Venice in perhaps a too sentimental manner. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Venice. A very entertaining history of Venice. But for the most interesting parts of Venetian history (to me anyway) it is slightly less interesting than Norwich's History of Venice or Roger Crowley's City of Fortune. But where this book shines is on the period after the fall of the Republic to the present. The explanation of the turbulent times as Venice was passed back and forth between France and the Hapsburgs (first half of the 19th century) and the changes from the arrival of the railroad and the ever increasing influx of tourists to the present was far better than any of the other histories I have read.
What do You think about Venice: A New History (2012)?
Highly enjoyable. Brought me up to date for an impending visit.
—gwyn
Seems very well researched, but a bit academic for my needs.
—NADEEN
too many wars, not enough culture, social history
—Sam
