A series of book is planned about the history of what nowadays are the Netherlands. This is the second publication and the following are planned for the coming years. Marco Mostert speaks about the years 0 to 1200. As a historian he mostly works with written sources, so he took the invention of bookprinting as the end of his period since a lot changed for his approach after that. The title In The Margin Of Civilisation was chosen because our parts in different times in history formed the borders of for example the Roman or the Frankish empire, usually with a part (Frisia) outside the border (or what was perceived as such). It is only a small book so it can hardly speak of everything that happened in those 1200 years. I am personally not all that interested in blunt history, but it seems like Mostert speaks about the more important events quite extensively and since he has an easy-to-read writing style, the book makes a nice read. Of course the period is most interesting for people who are interested in the Germanic tribes, little empires, the clash with the Romans and the coming of Christianity and Mostert nicely describes what tribes moved where and when, how they split and merged, allied or opposed against oppressors and how the new faith was introduced. The period described is not too often written about, since the sources are both scarse and coloured, but it is nice to have a descend book about it on the shelve.
2009 Bert Bakker, isbn 9035127749
