A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
by William Manchester
List Price:
Our Price: $5.84
You Save: $10.15 (63%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.60 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: William ManchesterEdition: Paperback
Published: 1993-06-01
ISBN: 0316545562
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Reviews of A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
Book Review: The flavor of the middle ages
Summary: 4 Stars
I was expecting a history book. I love history books. This was more of a history story, a fireside tale of history. That's ok -- I can take that. It reminds me of Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose -- about the Lewis and Clark expedition.
While *not* a comprehensive history of the Middle Ages, this was a great read. Manchester sketched the time period so clearly. And through this portrait, he brings some of the major thinkers and ideas that quickened into the Renaissance.
The book gives you context for all else you may read about the fall of Rome, the crusaders, the Moors, the scientists, and the explorers. I thought the most memorable character highlighted was Magellan.
And throughout, I considered the book very aptly titled: a world lit only by fire. What can human imagination, human passion, human determination not accomplish?
Summary of A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
It speaks to the failure of medieval Europe, writes popular historian William Manchester, that "in the year 1500, after a thousand years of neglect, the roads built by the Romans were still the best on the continent." European powers were so absorbed in destroying each other and in suppressing peasant revolts and religious reform that they never quite got around to realizing the possibilities of contemporary innovations in public health, civil engineering, and other peaceful pursuits. Instead, they waged war in faraway lands, created and lost fortunes, and squandered millions of lives. For all the wastefulness of medieval societies, however, Manchester notes, the era created the foundation for the extraordinary creative explosion of the Renaissance. Drawing on a cast of characters numbering in the hundreds, Manchester does a solid job of reconstructing the medieval world, although some scholars may disagree with his interpretations.It speaks to the failure of medieval Europe, writes popular historian William Manchester, that"in the year 1500, after a thousand years of neglect, the roads built by the Romans were still the beston the continent." European powers were so absorbed in destroying each other and in suppressingpeasant revolts and religious reform that they never quite got around to realizing the possibilities ofcontemporary innovations in public health, civil engineering, and other peaceful pursuits. Instead, theywaged war in faraway lands, created and lost fortunes, and squandered millions of lives. For all thewastefulness of medieval societies, however, Manchester notes, the era created the foundation for theextraordinary creative explosion of the Renaissance. Drawing on a cast of characters numbering in thehundreds, Manchester does a solid job of reconstructing the medieval world, although some scholars maydisagree with his interpretations.
Europe Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in History from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment: A Wishlist
The Beggar and the Professor: A Sixteenth-Century Family Sagaby Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 1998-06-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.98
Price in other shops:
Civilization of Europe in the Renaissanceby John Rigby Hale
Scribner; Published: 1995-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Ageby William Manchester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1993-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.04
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Linesby Thomas C. Foster
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2003-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.23
Price in other shops:
AP Achiever (Advanced Placement* Exam Preparation Guide) for European History (College Test Prep)by Chris Freiler
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill; Published: 2008-01-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $21.37
Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architectureby Ross King
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2001-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.86
Price in other shops:
Cracking the AP European History Exam, 2008 Edition (College Test Prep)by Princeton Review
Princeton Review; Published: 2007-12-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.31
Price in other shops:
Western Civilization: Sources, Images, and Interpretations, from the Renaissance to the Presentby Dennis Sherman
McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; Published: 2006-11-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $53.58
Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy (FSG Classics)by Jostein Gaarder
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2007-03-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.74
Price in other shops:
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Centuryby Barbara W. Tuchman
Ballantine Books; Published: 1987-07-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.90
Price in other shops:
The Prince (Bantam Classics)by Niccolo Machiavelli
Bantam Classics; Published: 1984-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.98
Price in other shops:
Cracking the AP European History Exam, 2006-2007 Edition (College Test Prep)by Princeton Review
Princeton Review; Published: 2006-01-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.54
Price in other shops:
Modern European Historyby Birdsall S. Viault
McGraw-Hill; Published: 1990-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.50
Price in other shops: