Europe

Europe: A History is Norman Davies's single-volume account of the continent from prehistory through the fall of the Soviet Union. Structured in twelve chronological chapters, it moves from the earliest geological and human history of Europe toward an increasingly close focus on the twentieth century.

Davies deliberately balances Western and Eastern Europe, pushing back against histories that treat "Western Civilization" as the whole story and neglect Russia, the Balkans, and Central Europe. He covers the rise and fall of Rome, the barbarian invasions, the Papacy's struggles for power, the Renaissance and Reformation, the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, the two World Wars, and the Cold War's end.

Interspersed through the narrative are nearly 300 short "capsules" — self-contained notes on specific people, places, events, and concepts (from persecuted minorities to obscure terms) that step outside the main chronological thread. The book also gives sustained attention to communities often left out of mainstream European history, including Jews, Muslims, Roma, and religious heretics.