Actually the full title of this book by Michael Pye is The Edge Of The World: How The North Sea Made Us Who We Are. Not a quick read, this book of 328 pages of small print makes an interesting argument. Essentially Pye argues that between 700 and 1700 CE, what we usually call the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages, in northern Europe many features of our common life were being developed. He contends that those developments are are commonly over looked.
Those feature are things like written law, monetary systems. capitalism, fashion, overseeing nature, the power of traders, and the significance of major cities. Progress did not end with the fall of Rome only to finally restart with the Renaissance. These developments owed much to the proximity of the North Sea.
He does not minimize what was occurring in southern Europe. His argument is, that the developments of northern Europe during that millennium need to be understood for a complete historical record.
The book reminds me a bit of another book; How The Irish Saved Civilization which treats of the contribution made by Irish monks and others in keeping learning alive during the time about which Pye writes.
If you choose to read The Edge...and I do recommend it, I'd suggest studying the introduction. In it Pye does a very good job establishing the framework for the book. His style is indirect so knowing his thesis is very important. If I were to critique one aspect of his writing it would be that indirectness. I found myself often wishing he'd just clearly say something rather than letting inference carry the message. However, this is one book I'd like to re-read...maybe someday?
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