A review by msgtdameron
Byzantium (III): The Decline and Fall by John Julius Norwich

4.0

After reading the complete set an observation. Why, do humans at any place or time in history continue to ignore the threat that will kill and pursue short term goals? As you read this work Norwich points out again and again European rulers who used Byzantium weakness and picked the carcass of the Empire. Instead of assisting the Byzantines against the Arabs or Turks. A shortsighted policy that led to another 200 years of Ottoman conquest through the Balkans and the continued shrinking of Christian lands in the East. A policy that today we continue to see with European involvement in the Balkans as the West try's to get the people of the Balkans to call a cop instead of the Blood feud. Short term goals of personal wealth and glory that lead to long term destruction, pain, death, and continued heart break. And we don't get any better. Our politicians in the U.S., England, Russia, and China along with innumerable Third World dictators use their people for their own gain. Use their land up instead of being good stewards of it. Pollute the air and water and then ask the people to fix their errors. All this done while they hold on to their political empires and or attack the carcass of what is left. It is obvious to me, that out side of a good, well written, and quick moving history the questions that the history asks are just as important.