There is plenty of criticism of Robert D. Kaplan's analysis of geopolitics and I will leave it to much greater minds than mine to offer that. What I eThere is plenty of criticism of Robert D. Kaplan's analysis of geopolitics and I will leave it to much greater minds than mine to offer that. What I enjoy about his method is his mix of journalism (interviews with some of the leading thinkers in the nations he's traveling through), history, geography lessons and political analysis as he reflects upon what he visits as he travels. And of course, his bibliographies. His books always have copious bibliographies of books that have informed his journeys from which I often select several for further reading. I have learned so much about parts of the world I may never be able to visit and insights into regional histories that I would otherwise not have learned. Like the cosmopolitanism that Kaplan admires I find myself much more interested in the world beyond my door through Kaplan....more
Ordering this book sight unseen because I thoroughly enjoyed both Danube and Microcosms, I was slightly disappointed to see that this book does indeedOrdering this book sight unseen because I thoroughly enjoyed both Danube and Microcosms, I was slightly disappointed to see that this book does indeed contain 'snapshots.' More like newspaper feuilletons than the more developed essays on Trieste and Mitteleuropean authors I had hoped for. Still interesting as these one to two page pieces give the reader insights into Magris' thoughts and opinions on more mundane things. ...more
Magris takes us on a spiraling journey through a variety of less well known areas of northern Italy, southern Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and the AdriaMagris takes us on a spiraling journey through a variety of less well known areas of northern Italy, southern Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and the Adriatic Sea itself. I use the term spiraling because the depth of Magris' knowledge about these places, all with which he has a personal connection. The individuals chapters are in effect essays about a specific place But each of these places, whether islands in the Adriatic, woods in Slovenia, the countryside outside Turin, the author's home city of Trieste, the Tyrol or others is presented as more than just a geographical location to be described. Often beginning with a description of a visit to the place by the author, colorful stories of local residents begin to unfold followed by tales of the (at least locally) more famous residents, usually authors. All these places are borderlands where people of a variety of ethnicities, religious beliefs, cultures, have overlapped since time immemorial. Microcosms is pure Magris....more
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