Thank you for the great reception we have received at Cruisereader.com. It’s exciting to be up and running. There are other destinations to research on your behalf. We are currently focusing on the literature related to European River Cruising. This exciting part of the travel industry has exploded in recent years so we know there is interest in the Cruisereader.com insights to be shared.
This is an incredibly dense topic. One of the best ways to illustrate the complexities of talking about the interconnected themes of mid-European history is to watch the continuously changing map of Europe on this fun link, http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f54_1337075813. It shows the shifting sovereignties in Europe since 1000AD, when many of the current monarchies began to imerge from the Dark Ages. If you watch Poland closely, you will see it become one of Europe’s largest states before 1500AD, only to disappear no less than three times between then and the current day. It’s not a part of European history we pay any attention to in our high school classrooms. You’ll also see the massive territories of the Mongol’s Golden Horde, which is why it is referred to it so often in the essays.
I just finished James Michener’s “Poland”. Though written before the collapse of the Communist Bloc in Eastern Europe, the author seems to see it coming. However, his chronicle of the trials and tribulations of the underclass Poles throughout history is very inspiring. The atrocities during WWII are tough to imagine possible.
Pick it up. You’ll have a jump on the River cruise essays.
Bon Voyage,
Cruisereader
