Book Review #103: Europe: Chained By History: What forces can break the chain? By Larry J. Hilton

Title: Europe: Chained By History: What forces can break the chain?

Author: Larry J. Hilton

Publishers: Newport Publishing

Genre: History/Non-Fiction

Pages: 344 (Paperback)

Source: Advanced review copy from Cadence Group

Having read many books on the history and especially on the European history, this book makes a unique read. It stands as a class apart. It doesn’t goad us with the facts and figures in a detailed manner which is painstaking to remember everything. This book will present its readers a riveting and vivid account of the history from a different perspective. The book encompasses the humane angle of the history from the medieval times till modern days. 

How does each phase of the history affect the common human beings like you and me? This very essence was captured in a brilliant way.

The book picks up really good with a note from the author in the preface of what led him to write this book. His love towards the history is evident in each chapter and the reference he quotes from different backgrounds adds a feel good factor while reading. In almost all chapters, the readers can see the references being made to the epic series of 11 volumes of western history "The Story of Civilization" by Will and Ariel Durant. We can also witness the author’s adoration towards the famous French poet, philosopher and playwright Voltaire and endorses his beliefs on the freedom of expression and social justice.

The central theme of the book is the capital of Austria, the Vienna. Starting from its historical background of how the present day Vienna got its name from the historical name of Vindobona which means “Fair Village or White Settlement” that originated from the historical beliefs from the Roman settlement of Celtic extraction. From there, the author takes us on a ride through the many kings and dynasties that ruled the Austria, especially the Habsburg dynasty and the king and queens that ruled for hundreds of years. The interesting account was of Maria Theresa, the only female ruler of the Habsburg dynasty, followed by her son Joseph II that ruled for just 10 years, but yet, made enough progress to abolish many things and bringing in new reforms that helped every sect of the society, especially the Jewish origins.

The more we dwell into the book, the more interesting it becomes. The chapters on the birth and rise of Adolf Hitler are a fascinating read. How Adolf does have his surname “Hitler” is an interesting tale. Adolf’s father, Alois Hitler was the illegitimate child of Maria Anna Schicklgruber; the Baptismal register didn’t show the name of the father, though Marina Anna knew who Alois’s father was. From there, Alois used his mother’s name as his surname. By late 1842, Maria Anna married Johann Georg Hiedler. Alois was infact brought up in the family of Hiedler’s brother Johann Nepomuk Hiedler. In 1876, Alois was legitimized and the baptismal register changed by a priest to register Johann Georg Heidler as Alois’s father has mistakenly changed his name to Georg Hitler. This was, Alios assumed the surname as “Hitler”. The chain followed ever after in the family, and thus we see Adolf Hitler. “Hitler” means the one who lives in a Hut.

Adolf Hitler’s regime was one of the brutal and inhumane phases of the modern Austrian history as recorded in this book. With a nil or deteriorating political backbone of the Austria and a growing strength of Adolf Hitler has left no option for the Austrians but to yield before Hitler. This came at the cost of no bullets. Hitler proudly records this event as “conquered without firing a single shot”. It is quite interesting to note that, Adolf Hitler’s childhood comprises of his friendship with Jews, his mother was treated till death by a Jewish doctor, and his stay in Vienna during his college days had made him to have many Jewish acquaintances and so on. His sudden change of behavior of hatred towards Jews has a long history of his reading habits and understanding the political world.

The book has many such fascinating and interesting tales from the history. One such example is the family of Klaar’s. Their tale of misery has no bounds. Also, the diary of a war widow Anna Eisenmenger will provide a vivid detail of the war and post war life, describing the events and the misery they had to endure. One should read these tales from the book to understand the complete picture of a common family during those times.

Overall, I feel this is an interesting book with the facts and figures covered from a different perspective. It is an easy read. The language used is simple and effective. It holds the readers till the end and it certainly becomes unstoppable. Larry J. Hilton has done a tremendous research to pen this book. I strongly recommend this book to be read by all.

My Rating:

5/5

Note: This book was given to me by “The Cadence Group” in exchange for an unbiased review.

Book Review #34: And The Mountains Echoed By Khaled Hosseini

There are few authors who can be termed as true storytellers and there are few like chetan bhagat. Khaled Hosseini is a master when it comes to storytelling. He gave us, the readers, what can be called as an emotionally charged novel. Without a second thought, this is one of the finest books I've read in recent times.

And The Mountains Echoed a third novel from Hosseini, captures a typical Afghanistan family of the 1950′s followed by the Soviet’s attack in late 60′s to 70′s and the invasion of Taliban, etc..

The story beings by a fairy tale that a father (Saboor) is narrating to his kids (Abdullah and Pari) in a remote village called Shadbagh in Afghanistan. This was an everyday scene in Saboor’s family. To make the ends meet and to win daily bread and also to support his new pregnant wife (yes, the 2nd one), Saboor takes an unexpected step through selling his younger daughter Pari, to a wealthy couple in Kabul who are childless. Pari was barely 3 years old when she was sold by her father. Pari was not aware of such consequence, but her brother Abdullah who was 7 years old, was devastated by this cruel act of his father.

Everyday Abdullah gets reminded of her little sister every now and then, all those happy moment playing with her, all those little gifts that he had bought for his sister, etc.. Pari loved the birds feather like it was a diamond in possession. Abdullah carefully collected all these feathers over the years to gift her and see the joy in her little sisters face. Now, all those moments have been crushed to sands and now he is all alone in the house. Later events makes him to run to Pakistan and he starts working in a restaurant and few years later he travels to USA along with his wife and daughter Pari (Yes, he named his daughter as Pari) and starts his own Kebab restaurant.

The entire story is captured from 1950 till 2010 that spans over more than 50 years. Pari’s new parents, Nila wahdati, a poet by passion and Suleiman Wahdati an artist. Even here, there is a tragedy, Nila divorces her husband and takes Pari to France forever. Then the novel takes another turn, describing Pari’s life in France, her bonding with her new mom, her college life, etc.. But, Pari often gets a jolt sometimes that, she is missing something, like she is not born to Nila and she constantly gets reminded of a little village where she was born somewhere buried deep in her memory.

The novel has many characters and many stories that was probably unnecessary to the novel. There is one character called Nabi, the driver of Suleiman Wahdati and also maternal uncle of Pari and Abdullah, who actually sets the stage for Wahdati couple to buy his sister’s daughter Pari. Later in the novel, Nabi writes a long letter to Mr. Markos, a plastic surgeon, working in Afghanistan for over 10 years. He describes what all the things he has done, and he also mentions about Pari.

All those hardships and fights and long waits to reconcile is described in the last 2 chapters, which is a must read from the book. After all, will Pari and Abdullah meet in the end ??. Will old Abdullah be able recognize her sister old Pari ? You must read that in the book. I stop it at this point, so readers can actually go and read this novel. For sure, its an emotional roller coaster ride for both Pari and Abdullah. Hosseini has captured this very essence brilliantly and carried it throughout the novel. I assure you, you will be restless to witness the climax.

My Rating:

4/5