In a book of this length covering the vast amount of time that it does, it is always interesting to see what the author includes and what they leave out. This was an interesting and informative read which did focus primarily on Western Europe, but there was a smattering of Eastern Europe in there too, which was good to see. I thought the various timelines throughout the book were helpful to see where things stood at a glance and overall, thought this was an enjoyable introductory read.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Very interesting and easy to follow. The author covers the entire history of Europe so can't really go in depth into any certain era or event. It is however a good starting point to get an overall view of Europe's history and to take notes on the events you want to find out more about to later read additional information in other books or online.

A History of Europe
From Pre-History to the 21st Century
by Jeremy Black
(Narrated by Richard Trinder)

A wide range and informational book, which is perfect for those who want to have an idea of the history of Europe.

It’s always hard to consider what to cover especially with the long history and broad content. The book has a great content, also educational. I’m obsessed with the history and I enjoyed the way the narrator presented. Easy to follow, perfect pace.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pub date: Dec 12, 2023

A very broad topic but this is a good overview which manages to keep the listener's attention despite the potentially overwhelming subject matter.

It was a good summary of European's history but there wasn't anything earth-shattering or novel about it. I would have liked it to have more of an easy-to-follow narrative rather than just timeline and facts.

This was an informative book about the history of Europe. A bit intense, I admit, but it gives a very good summary of the milestones in just over 7 hours. I liked the narrator and to me he sounded like a good fit to this book.

Such a lot of information in the book, i read it in stages. Would be good to go back and re read some of the sections again. It covers a great deal but not in great detail Well laid out and follows on through the time line. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

This is a brief overview of Europe's history, which is good if you don't know anything about it or would like a refresher. There's no detailed analysis, but it's the perfect starting point if you're interested in specific events to then dig more into them and their context.

I would have preferred to read this book than listen to it though. I understand history can be quite dry (although it's also possible to present it in a more lively way), but the narration was dull and monotonous, which made it difficult to listen to and focus on it.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book gives a brief overview of some of the defining historical moments throughout Europe from its formation up until the 21st century. While some topics are given more detail, some events are referred to briefly which leaves the reader with more questions than answers. This book may appeal to someone with no knowledge of European history but for me, it was just a long list of dates without any real importance or context.
I also found the narrator monotonous and dreary which made the book a difficult listen.

A History of Europe is very much a whistle stop overview rather than a detailed analysis. The scope is vast; from the formation of the European continent up to present times and it’s difficult to imagine how this could have been delivered without being very much longer. It’s a great refresher for anyone interested in European history, but don’t expect in depth analysis. It’s a bit of a tempter as it prompts interest in numerous events and acts as a starter for further reading or research about topics that hold particular interest.

I had the audio version and I think I’d prefer the written version. I found the narration somewhat dull and it was the subject matter rather than the narration which retained my interest. The delivery is very flat.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this eARC.

This is exactly what it says on the cover, it’s a history of Europe beginning with the very formation of the continent and going through all major historic events. While it gives the reader/listener a decent overview of the history it is also very condensed, which is to be expected with such a massive undertaking.

I found the language and narration accessible (I only listened in small sections) and overall it was a good reminder of things I have learned in school and through other books.

If you’re looking for an extensive and deep history of the continent then this isn’t the book for you (I struggle to believe there could be any book that covers every event in detail) however if you like history and want to have a better over all understanding of what has led to today’s Europe then this is for you.

This is a bit of a whistle stop tour of Europe, it is obvious the author knows his subject and it is a very good overview of these periods in European history. I found the narrator very monotone and his delivery did not encourage me to keep listening. There was little enthusiasm in the delivery which is irritating when the audiobook is relatively long. Overall I found that I would prefer to read the book. However the book is interesting and informative. Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC of A History of Europe.

Format: audiobook ~ Narrator: Richard Trinder
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars

With nonfiction (audio)books, the contentment and rating always depend on what you expect in the first place. Don’t expect an extensive and detailed history of Europe. With about 7 hours of audio narration, you should expect this to be a brief history of Europe. This audiobook is suitable for those who know (almost) nothing about the topic or want to revise some key moments from history.

Overall, I think A History of Europe is an excellent brief presentation of Europe’s history.

Thanks to Arcturus Digital Audio for the advance copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.

Let's start from the beginning. I am in no way new to History Books. I've read the Romanovs (Simon Montefiore), many histories of the US, a History of Scotland (Oliver Neil) before, so I know that history books can be dry, but this is in a whole other level.

I knew it would be a challenge to condense all history of Europe in few pages, but this book is everywhere. The author basically just lists facts without explaining the reasons why people made these decisions. In addition, as you might expect, the author had to make decisions about what to include and what to exclude from this brief history of Europe, but there's no explanation as to these criteria. This seems like a combination of several Wikipedia articles that interest the author. For example, at some point the author discusses opera, but skips several other topics. When we get to the 20th century he talks about how the climate and animals of Europe have changed, but at no point in the past he mentioned what animals were in Europe before.

I feel that this would be a good read for people who know absolutely nothing of history. This is the book I would give to a Martian who needs a brief overview of European history. I feel that the autor should have focused on a specific aspect, like for example the kings and queens of Europe through time, or all wars and how they shaped the history of Europe.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an audiobook copy to review.

A History of Europe is exactly as it says - a history of Europe. It’s a short read, so it’s supposed to be a kind of surface overview of important periods and locations within Europe’s history.

One of the reasons I was looking forward to reading this was that my European historical knowledge mostly concerns the UK, Greece, and Rome. I liked that the author mentioned Europe’s close connection with other places like North Africa and the Middle East, especially in reference to the Greek and Roman empires.

I enjoyed listening to this! It is very short, and writing in an accessible way, so I flew through it. There is obviously a lot to cover, so this book talks about ancient history, language, the establishment of governments and political movements, as well as war and conflict.

I understand that the point of this book is an overview, but I don’t think it was executed quite as well as it could have been. I mostly think it is because the amount of attention on different events varied, and some things were important but only addressed very briefly.

In particular, I think slavery was brushed over very briefly. I understand that the focus is on Europe, but I feel that colonialism and its effects should have been explored more given its significance.

There was a lot of focus on wars and battles, which of course are an important part of history, as well as politics. However, because this book is so short, this focus was at the expense of other themes and topics, so it felt less like a holistic overview. I wanted more information generally about what life was like!

Despite the issues I had, I still enjoyed this book, and I did learn some new things! I’m especially unfamiliar with the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods so I definitely filled some gaps in my knowledge. I know that I need to learn more about Eastern Europe so this book made me more interested to dive into specific periods and locations. The audiobook also worked well and was easy to understand. I think this is a good choice if you want a quick read, and if you have little knowledge of European history and want a broad overview to start with.

3 stars

3.5 stars

A HISTORY OF EUROPE is a brief overview of European history with a greater emphasis on trends than events themselves.

This book is very short, trying to cover over four millennia (though only three in detail) in under 300 pages. All the other histories of Europe I have read cover shorter time periods (usually little over a millennium if that) in far more pages. This is because there is so much to cover, and no amount of pages can ever do that much history justice.

The approach this history takes is to do a whistle stop tour to give you an overarching idea of the major events and themes. This means events are covered in very little detail, mostly mentioning "this happened as part of this trend." For example there was all of two sentences on the Crimean War, fitting it into a larger context without much reference to what happened in said war (or the direct causes.)

Therefore, this is a good book for those who want that zoomed out idea of history, to improve their general timeline and aren't too bothered with the details (or are willing to research the areas that grab their interest themselves.) It was informative as a timeline with a focus on trends, though as a details person, I wanted more.

Richard Trinder narrates. As someone who listens at an accelerated speed (1.25x), it did reinforce my opinion that it was whistlestop, particularly as each chapter had several date lists (which also reinforced the "this is basically a timeline with a few more details" impression.)

Thank Netgalley for providing Arc version of this audiobook.
As a historian I like European history more than anything mostly because of its verity. There are huge differences from county to county and I like exploring it.
Good structure and narrator made this book perfect 7 hours relaxing listening.