Beneath Another Sky: A Global Journey into History

'Human history is a tale not just of constant change but equally of perpetual locomotion', writes Norman Davies. Throughout the ages, men and women have endlessly sought the greener side of the hill. Their migrations, collisions, conquests and interactions have given rise to the spectacular profusion of cultures, races, languages and polities that now proliferates on every continent.

This incessant restlessness inspired Davies's own. After decades of writing about European history he embarked upon an extended journey that took him right round the world to a score of hitherto unfamiliar countries. Davies's circumnavigation takes him to Baku, the Emirates, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Tasmania, Tahiti, Texas, Madeira and many places in between. At every stop, he not only describes the current scene but also excavates the layers of accumulated experience that underpin the present. 'Everything has its history', he writes, 'including the history of finding one's way or of getting lost.'

The personality of the author comes across strongly, with an endless curiosity and appetite for knowledge. As always, Norman Davies watches the historical horizon as well as what is close at hand, and brilliantly complicates our view of the past.