Adriatic : a concert of civilizations at the end of the modern age / Robert D. Kaplan.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York : Random House, [2022]Copyright date: ©2022Edition: First editionDescription: xix, 340 pages : map ; 25 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780399591044
- 0399591044
- Concert of civilizations at the end of the modern age
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 909.0982 K17 | Available | 33111010830293 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
" An elegantly layered exploration of Europe's past and future . . . a multifaceted masterpiece."- The Wall Street Journal
"A lovely, personal journey around the Adriatic, in which Robert Kaplan revisits places and peoples he first encountered decades ago."-Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR- The New Yorker
In this insightful travelogue, Robert D. Kaplan, geopolitical expert and bestselling author of Balkan Ghosts and The Revenge of Geography, turns his perceptive eye to a region that for centuries has been a meeting point of cultures, trade, and ideas. He undertakes a journey around the Adriatic Sea, through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece, to reveal that far more is happening in the region than most news stories let on. Often overlooked, the Adriatic is in fact at the center of the most significant challenges of our time, including the rise of populist politics, the refugee crisis, and battles over the control of energy resources. And it is once again becoming a global trading hub that will determine Europe's relationship with the rest of the world as China and Russia compete for dominance in its ports.
Kaplan explores how the region has changed over his three decades of observing it as a journalist. He finds that to understand both the historical and contemporary Adriatic is to gain a window on the future of Europe as a whole, and he unearths a stark truth- The era of populism is an epiphenomenon-a symptom of the age of nationalism coming to an end. Instead, the continent is returning to alignments of the early modern era as distinctions between East and West meet and break down within the Adriatic countries and ultimately throughout Europe.
With a brilliant cross-pollination of history, literature, art, architecture, and current events, in Adriatic, Kaplan demonstrates that this unique region that exists at the intersection of civilizations holds revelatory truths for the future of global affairs.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 311-324) and index.
The Globe in Miniature -- Rimini: Europe in Limestone -- Ravenna: How Theodoric and Dante Shaped the West -- Venice: Frazer's Golden Bough and the Defeat of Fate -- Trieste: Italy's Geographic Complexity -- Piran, Koper, Ljubljana, and Rijeka: The Early Modern World Awaiting Us -- Zagreb, Split, Korcula, and Dubrovnik: "Nations Are Not Inscribed Into the Nature of Things" -- Kotor, Podgorica, Tirana, and Durres: The Heart of Europe? -- Corfu: The Archetypal Refugee Experience.
"In this insightful travelogue, geopolitical expert Robert Kaplan turns his perceptive eye to the Adriatic Sea, a region that has always been a crossroads in trade, culture, and ideas. Kaplan undertakes a journey through Italy and the Balkan countries lining the Adriatic to reveal much more to the region than news stories about resurgent populism or the refugee crisis let on. As he travels, the stark truth emerges that the age of populism is merely an epiphenomenon--a swan song for the age of nationalism itself--and that the future of Europe lies in a different direction entirely as he observes a breaking down of the distinctions between east and west, a return to alignments of an earlier era. Traveling the coastline from Italy to Slovenia and Croatia, to Montenegro to Albania and to Greece, he engages perceptive cultural criticism and an urgent study of Europe as a whole, seen through the lens of these countries. He finds clues to what the future may hold in history as he reflects on contemporary issues like the refugee crisis, the return of populist nationalism, battles over the control of fossil fuel resources, and how the Adriatic will once again be a global trading hub as it is set to be connected to China's Belt and Road initiative. With a cross-pollination of history, literature, art, architecture, and current events along with a map and photographs throughout, Kaplan demonstrates how Europe is distilled within the geography of the Adriatic, an often-overlooked region rich with answers and insights about the fate of the continent"-- Provided by publisher.