Vanished Kingdoms : The history of Half – Forgetten Europe

This book shows the reader how to peer through the cracks of mainstream history-writing, and to catch a glimpse of the ‘Five, Six or Seven kingdoms of Burgundy. How long will it be before the USSR, until recently one of the world’s two superpowers, is wholly or half-forgotten as most of these? The histories of the lost echo across the centuries, mixed in with more familiar sounds. One of the purposes of this book is to help us hear them again more clearly, and appreciate where they came from. As in his earlier celebrated books Europe and The Isles, Norman Davies aims to subvert our established view what looks familiar in history and urges us to look and think again. This stimulating surprising book, full of unexpected stories, observations and connections, gives us a fresh and original perspective on the history of Europe….