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schopflin's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
I really struggled with this book. The style is at the same time high handed and imperialistic, as Western travel writing always used to be, and meandering and hard to penetrate. In many places it's reminiscent of the obscure, referential style of the Psychogeographer Ian Sinclair. After a while I realised the real problem is that it is marketed as a history of the Baltics and is in fact a history of the Baltic German aristocracy, for whom the author seems to have a worshipful passion. Consequently, there's no mention of Lithuania, which may disappoint some people, and very little about the lives of ordinary people. However I did learn many things from it and he can certainly evoke a place.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism and Genocide
Minor: Deportation
glennrj's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book more. The author clearly did a lot of research and there's a good overview of Baltic history and present-day Estonia and Latvia. Bottom line, Germans and Russians have fought for control and influence there for centuries, but the Balts are their own people, and their independence is constantly threatened. But ultimately I think this book needed some heavy-duty editing. The narrative jumped all over the place, each chapter was supposed to have a unifying theme but I struggled to figure them out as each one jumped back and forth in time and introducing and reintroducing historical figures, modern-day people, fictional people from novels, and lots of "this person said that this person said such and such or that this thing happened." Oh and also I was unclear on why there was almost no discussion of Lithuania, which I am pretty sure is a Baltic state too or considered one? Anyway I do have a better understanding of Estonia and Latvia now, but the book was a difficult read.
lilreaderbug's review against another edition
2.0
DNF at around page 45. Prose was well-done, but the content didn't deliver what I was expecting. Very little discussion about the Baltic people, mostly focused on Germans. Lots of travelogues, rather than history and the author doesn't appear to speak a Baltic language or Russian, so doesn't seem like he was able to connect with the actual people there.
I sensed hostility and unwillingness to understand the Baltic people. The author a few times reduced them to singing peasants in the past, and resented those in the present, including criticizing a hotel worker for not smiling at him. He assumes this meant the worker (a young female) wants him to leave, but it really sounds like the author hasn't bothered to learn how the culture is there versus his native country (Britain, I think?). Between strangers smiling is rare and can be regarded as maniacal/creepy. This book claims to be a study of the Baltic people. I suppose it is, the author's refusal to remove his cultural biases results in it adding little insight and perpetuates misunderstanding in the subject the book claims to clarify.
I sensed hostility and unwillingness to understand the Baltic people. The author a few times reduced them to singing peasants in the past, and resented those in the present, including criticizing a hotel worker for not smiling at him. He assumes this meant the worker (a young female) wants him to leave, but it really sounds like the author hasn't bothered to learn how the culture is there versus his native country (Britain, I think?). Between strangers smiling is rare and can be regarded as maniacal/creepy. This book claims to be a study of the Baltic people. I suppose it is, the author's refusal to remove his cultural biases results in it adding little insight and perpetuates misunderstanding in the subject the book claims to clarify.
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
4.0
Meet the author here as he guides readers around the stunning Baltic locations! This is QUITE the journey!
I was honoured to get the chance to chat with this author and get his impressions and experiences around the Baltic region. Such a fascinating account of a region few of us really get the chance to explore. The maps, pictures and a real sense of adventure are perfect here and the writing peppered with just enough detail, cultural history and genuine love of travel and other people that an author of such a read should have.
Recommended!
m_peacock's review against another edition
2.0
More of a travelogue with historical musings than a straight history of the Baltics. And even then, the historical musings are only about the ruling class, the Baltics Germans, who keep themselves separate from the native Estonians and Latvians (hence the title The Glass Wall).
At first, it was interesting to learn about the social structure and how the Germans stayed on top for some 500-600 years. But then, as Egremont tours former Baltic German family mansions, we get each family's history from the late 1800's through WWII or to the 1960's/70's. It's obvious that Egremont has done a lot of research into the Baltic Germans. The first couple of family histories are interesting, but it gets repetitive after that. And we only learn about the rest of the population, the Estonians and the Latvians, from their interactions with these German families.
Most of Egremont's time is spent in Latvia; Estonia comes a bit more to the fore in the last chapters. I kept flipping back to the map at the front of the book for the location of the towns Egremont visits. Lithuania is not included in the book, though it's considered one of the Baltic countries. Maybe it's because the Baltic Germans weren't as much of a factor there.
Not a bad book; just not the history of the Baltics that I thought it would be.
At first, it was interesting to learn about the social structure and how the Germans stayed on top for some 500-600 years. But then, as Egremont tours former Baltic German family mansions, we get each family's history from the late 1800's through WWII or to the 1960's/70's. It's obvious that Egremont has done a lot of research into the Baltic Germans. The first couple of family histories are interesting, but it gets repetitive after that. And we only learn about the rest of the population, the Estonians and the Latvians, from their interactions with these German families.
Most of Egremont's time is spent in Latvia; Estonia comes a bit more to the fore in the last chapters. I kept flipping back to the map at the front of the book for the location of the towns Egremont visits. Lithuania is not included in the book, though it's considered one of the Baltic countries. Maybe it's because the Baltic Germans weren't as much of a factor there.
Not a bad book; just not the history of the Baltics that I thought it would be.
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