After decades of writing about European history Norman Davies embarked upon an extended
journey that took him round the world. He aimed to test his powers of observation but equally
to encounter history in a new way. Beneath Another Sky is partly a historian's travelogue
partly a highly engaging exploration of events and personalities that have fashioned today's
world. Davies's circumnavigation takes him to Baku the Emirates India Malaysia Mauritius
Tasmania Tahiti Texas Madeira and many places in between. At every stop he not only
describes the current scene but also excavates the layers of accumulated experience that
underpin the present. He tramps round ancient temples delves into the fate of indigenous
peoples uncovers the Nazi origins of Frankfurt airport and lectures on imperialism in a desert
oasis. 'Everything has its history' he writes 'including the history of finding one's way or
of getting lost.' As always Norman Davies watches the historical horizon as well as what is
close at hand and brilliantly complicates our view of the past.
