The Armenians (Peoples of Europe)

by Anne Elizabeth Redgate

Release Date: April, 2000

Edition: Paperback

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While the book has been written by a professional, I have a feeling that it has been written somewhat hastily, and the topics covered have been arbitrarily chosen. It is frequently hard to trace the underlying logic of the arguments or to come up with specific conclusions intended. One almost gets an impression of the author claiming something like, "If we make this and this assumption, we would arrive to this and this conclusion, if we make the other assumption, we would arrive to the other conclusion. We can arrive to any conclusion, thus the subject should not be seriously studied." This characterization is especially transparent in the case of the topic of the "Origin of Armenians." It looks as if "I have been asked to write about it and I have done it. I can spend my time on better things, however."

For example, it is noteworthy that the author pays minimal attention to the era and the contribution of the Paulicians, who have had tremendous impact on the evolution of European theological thought starting in the 9th century, laying down the foundations of Protestant thought.

On the other hand, this book obviously is not meant for bedtime reading, and has to be read with a sharp pencil in one's hands. However, in this case, I suspect there is a high likelihood of emerging with a much more negative reaction towards it.

Overall, I think this is a book to at least glance through and to know about, and is a positive contribution when looked at from the perspective of bringing Armenian History to the International spotlight. It is a welcome addition to the library of anyone who has serious interest in Armenian History, but would not necessarily be appropriate for novices or those with only a passing interest.

not recommended as an introduction

this book left me with quite a muddled picture of the armenians.

the book can be broadly divided into three parts, chronologically speaking: 1. beginnings-1071, 2. 1071-1915, and 3. 1915-present. the latter two parts are rendered in quite a summary fashion in my opinion, and a topic as central as the genocide has been accorded barely half a page.

throughout the book one finds it hard to understand when armenians were independent and when not, what elements of their culture they got from whom and what contributions they made to other cultures. one major contribution of armenians is their distinctive architecture, and that could have been explored with far more pictures than are included in the book.

the exceptionally summary treatment of the centuries under turkish rule and especially of the genocide leaves one startled, as these are the centuries and events that must have had a most profound effect on the armenian identity. an establishment turkish historian writing about armenian history could not have paid less attention to the genocide issue (for other purposes, of course, but that's another matter). the recently independent armenian republic is also equally summarily treated. the lack of a single armenian name in the acknowledgements page is also very curious.

i had bought it to get an unbiased introduction to the subject, instead i got a muddled one. in sum, i would not recommend this book as an introduction to the subject.