A thoughtful consideration of the imaginary lines that hold meaning for so many.
Scottish historian and documentarian Crawford looks at the meaning of borders and the power they hold.
Borders are marked by walls, fences, barbed wire, and armed guards. In some places, they’re less martial, as with a “three-country cairn” that marks the junction of Sweden, Norway, and Finland but is buried in snow for much of the year. In other places, borders may not be well marked but can have consequences for the person who crosses them willfully or even in error. In a provocative section of his narrative, Crawford considers the fate of the Alpine “iceman” called Ötzi, who was murdered as he hunted in the mountains, perhaps because he crossed a line that he shouldn’t have. As one archaeologist remarked about certain “cult sites” found in the interceding valleys, “I think these places are markers for territory. If you came from the north, you’d see these places and they show you, that is my territory, or the territory of my community.” Today, of course, the borders extend to the highest peaks, with markers made meaningless at times due to geological upheaval and melting glaciers. Crawford travels widely to make his points in a text reminiscent of those of Barry Lopez or Robert Macfarlane. One fruitful stop finds him at the Roman walls built at the orders of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, walls that lie far south of the great Roman victory over the Caledonians at the Battle of Mons Graupius. Why did the Romans give up so much territory when it appeared it was theirs to be had? “The end of the world had been reached, grasped and let go,” writes the author, with no apparent explanation at hand. With the increasingly destructive effects of climate change, borders continue to collapse as island countries are disappearing under the waves and refugees flee their devastated homelands, lending Crawford’s musings added timeliness.
A thoughtful consideration of the imaginary lines that hold meaning for so many.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-324-03704-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
An erudite guide to the biblical world.
Revelations from the Old Testament.
“The Bible has no rivals when it comes to the art of omission, of not saying what everyone would like to know,” observes Calasso (1941-2021), the acclaimed Italian publisher, translator, and explorer of myth, gods, and sacred ritual. In this probing inquiry into biblical mysteries, the author meditates on the complexities and contradictions of key events and figures. He examines the “enigmatic nature” of original sin in Genesis, an anomaly occurring in no other creation myth; God’s mandate of circumcision for all Jewish men; and theomorphism in the form of Adam: a man created in the image of the god who made him. Among the individuals Calasso attends to in an abundantly populated volume are Saul, the first king of Israel; the handsome shepherd David, his successor; David’s son Solomon, whose relatively peaceful reign allowed him “to look at the world and study it”; Moses, steeped in “law and vengeance,” who incited the slaughter of firstborn sons; and powerful women, including the Queen of Sheba (“very beautiful and probably a witch”), Jezebel, and the “prophetess” Miriam, Moses’ sister. Raging throughout is Yahweh, a vengeful God who demands unquestioned obedience to his commandments. “Yahweh was a god who wanted to defeat other gods,” Calasso writes. “I am a jealous God,” Yahweh proclaims, “who punishes the children for the sins of their fathers, as far as the third and fourth generations.” Conflicts seemed endless: During the reigns of Saul and David, “war was constant, war without and war within.” Terse exchanges between David and Yahweh were, above all, “military decisions.” David’s 40-year reign was “harrowing and glorious,” marked by recurring battles with the Philistines. Calasso makes palpable schisms and rivalries, persecutions and retributions, holocausts and sacrifices as tribal groups battled one another to form “a single entity”—the people of Israel.
An erudite guide to the biblical world.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-374-60189-8
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A rousing, suspenseful adventure tale.
A harrowing expedition to Antarctica, recounted by Departures senior features editor Sancton, who has reported from every continent on the planet.
On Aug. 16, 1897, the steam whaler Belgica set off from Belgium with young Adrien de Gerlache as commandant. Thus begins Sancton’s riveting history of exploration, ingenuity, and survival. The commandant’s inexperienced, often unruly crew, half non-Belgian, included scientists, a rookie engineer, and first mate Roald Amundsen, who would later become a celebrated polar explorer. After loading a half ton of explosive tonite, the ship set sail with 23 crew members and two cats. In Rio de Janeiro, they were joined by Dr. Frederick Cook, a young, shameless huckster who had accompanied Robert Peary as a surgeon and ethnologist on an expedition to northern Greenland. In Punta Arenas, four seamen were removed for insubordination, and rats snuck onboard. In Tierra del Fuego, the ship ran aground for a while. Sancton evokes a calm anxiety as he chronicles the ship’s journey south. On Jan. 19, 1898, near the South Shetland Islands, the crew spotted the first icebergs. Rough waves swept someone overboard. Days later, they saw Antarctica in the distance. Glory was “finally within reach.” The author describes the discovery and naming of new lands and the work of the scientists gathering specimens. The ship continued through a perilous, ice-littered sea, as the commandant was anxious to reach a record-setting latitude. On March 6, the Belgica became icebound. The crew did everything they could to prepare for a dark, below-freezing winter, but they were wracked with despair, suffering headaches, insomnia, dizziness, and later, madness—all vividly capture by Sancton. The sun returned on July 22, and by March 1899, they were able to escape the ice. With a cast of intriguing characters and drama galore, this history reads like fiction and will thrill fans of Endurance and In the Kingdom of Ice.
A rousing, suspenseful adventure tale.Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984824-33-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
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