MIAMI, United States. – The Castro family clan was included in the book The world. A family storyby British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, about the rise and fall of the most powerful dynasties of all time.
In addition to the Castros, the book also includes the Ming, the Valois, the Medici, the Borgias, the Tudors, the Habsburgs, the Bonapartes, the Romanovs, the Bourbons, the Rothschilds, the Krupps, the Rockefellers, the Kennedys, the Assads, the Pahlavis, the Kims and the Trumps.
In the almost 1,500-page volume, it was written during the pandemic lockdown and addresses the complete history of the world from when humanity left its records until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Montefiore’s proposal is to narrate the story from the family, which translates into the political and economic dynasties and sagas that have held power and ruled the world.
According to the medium The objective, Montefiore’s work challenges the dominant historiographical currents of the 20th century, such as Marxism, historical materialism, the French Annales School, the history of everyday life, and microhistory, which have dedicated themselves to demystifying the narrative centered on great leaders. and epic battles. Instead, The world. A family story appears as a mixture of Game of Thrones, Dallas, Dynasty, The Sopranos and successionwith a focus on the violence and sex that characterize these dynasties.
In addition to telling the story of powerful families, Montefiore also offers succinct and devastating descriptions of historical figures such as Cesar Borgia, Christopher Columbus, Winston Churchill, and Jimmy Carter. The book also includes anecdotes about lewd leaders like Napoleon III and John F. Kennedy.
Despite his focus on blood, sex, and gossip, The world. A family story it does not remain a mere repertoire of salacious gossip and gore. Montefiore is a first-rate historian, with works of great weight behind him such as Jerusalem: the biography either The Romanovs. Thus, he knows how to build a solid historical narrative in which conspiracies for power are interwoven with technological and medical advances, great cultural milestones, and social and economic evolution.
The author also eschews Eurocentrism, devoting copious pages to Latin America, the Arab world, Africa, and even the story of the last king of Hawaii. So the title is not misleading, we are facing a true history of the world.
