^#smrgSAHAF Salonica City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews ( 1430-1950 ) -

Salonika was an anachronism. Unlike most of Europe, where nations had been formed around a major city or a capital, and where ethnic and religious minorities had been absorbed, expelled, killed, or at least marginalized in some fashion, in Salonika different groups lived shoulder to shoulder for over 400 years. Mazower tells the story. First we get Greeks, then Turks, then after 1492 Spanish (and Portugese and Italian) Jews (speaking Ladino, Judeo-Spanish). The first half of the book describes the communities, daily lives, interactions. More communities developed. Sabbatai Zevi declared himself Messaiah, won a following, converted to Islam, and his followers, well, followed him. "Donme" or "Apostates" (the descendants of these Jewish converts to Islam) remained a distinct part of Salonika's fabric. Albanians arrived. And eventually Bosnians and Bulgarians as well (there is dispute over whether they should be called Bulgarians or Macedonian Slavs). The first half of the book is jumpy. It is not organized chronologically. Primary document spellings are not followed by modern equivalents. There are insufficient maps. It makes for slow reading. But Mazower hit his stride around 1700. The history begins to flow chronologically. And he tells history as an engaging story. Modern is definitely his period. And the more modern, the better he gets. He includes details that would be easy to gloss over. The story is complex. Mazower makes it flow, and makes it clear, and makes it engaging. The book ends with two major chapters: the Nazi extermination of almost the entire Jewish population of the city is told with great detail. The Greek Civil War seems to be strangely tacked on, with little detail, and little of Mazower's flair. But it hardly takes away from the book's overall strength.