A Distant Mirror

Wise, witty, and wonderful A great book, in a great historical tradition CommentaryThe 14th century gives us back two contradictory images a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and a dark time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world plunged into a chaos of war, fear and the Plague Barbara Tuchman anatomizes the century, revealing both the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived. Read A Distant Mirror – kino-fada.fr What an extraordinary read it is when one book is as action packed as thirty riveting novels And if it also contains rich and erudite disquisitions and is narrated in a language as clear and flowing as water from a spring, then the volume must be given a preferential place in one s library.I am not too keen of including quotes in my reviews But given the amount of material that marshals in front of one s eyes, as colorful as overwhelming pageants and breathtaking jousts, and as dense as the ti What an extraordinary read it is when one book is as action packed as thirty riveting novels And if it also contains rich and erudite disquisitions and is narrated in a language as clear and flowing as water from a spring, then the volume must be given a preferential place in one s library.I am not too keen of including quotes in my reviews But given the amount of material that marshals in front of one s eyes, as colorful as overwhelming pageants and breathtaking jousts, and as dense as the tightly woven wefts and warps of a tapestry, there is no way I could attempt to give a glimpse with my own words of what Barbara Tuchman has achieved with this book.But before I present the quote, I would like to draw attention to how shrewd Tuchman has been in the choice of her subject As she explains in her early pages, she set herself to follow one particular character as he lived during a period in history when the actors were on the c... A Distant Mirrorr by Barbara W Tuchman is, on one level, a seven hundred page encyclopedia of the 14th century s political, military, religious, social, cultural and economic history Since Ms Tuchman is a first rate writer, on still another level, the book is a compelling, personalized account of individual men and women living through these turbulent, disastrous times, especially one Enguerrand de Coucy V11 1340 1397 , a high ranking noble, heralded as the most experienced and skillful of A Distant Mirrorr by Barbara W Tuchman is, on one level, a seven hundred page encyclopedia of the 14th century s political, military, religious, social, cultural and economic history Since Ms Tuchman is a first rate writer, on still another level, the book is a compelling, personalized account of individual men and women living through these turbulent, disastrous times, especially one Enguerrand de Coucy V11 1340 1397 , a high ranking noble, heralded as the most experienced and skillful of all the knights of France The focus on Lord Coucy is supremely appropriate since this nobleman repeatedly pops up as a prime player in many of the century s key events.The 14th century witnessed ongoing devastation, including the little ice age, the hundred years war, the papal schism, the peasant s revolt and, most dramatically, the black death of 1348 1350, which depopulated Europe by as much as half Ms Tuchman s book covers it all in twenty se...A vivid and detailed look into a lost world The major players are The Black Death, The Hundred Years War, the sick, uproarious joke of chivalric valor, The Papal Schism, ruinous taxation, serfdom, petty feudal institutions, the utter absence of reason among the so called ruling classes, murderous vengeance, horrendous peculation, brigandry, the subjection of women, the sheer endless cruelty of mankind, crusade against the infidel, and so on A GR friend said that he was disappointed in this b A vivid and detailed look into a lost world The major players are The Black Death, The Hundred Years War, the sick, uproarious joke of chivalric valor, The Papal Schism, ruinous taxation, serfdom, petty feudal institutions, the utter absence of reason among the so called ruling classes, murderous vengeance, horrendous peculation, brigandry, the subjection of women, the sheer endless cruelty of mankind, crusade against the infidel, and so on A GR friend said that he was disappointed in this book because it did not offer the narrow focus and sleek thematic underpinnings...My interest in medieval times is not incredibly strong it is, in fact, relegated mostly to the hope of someday going to a Medieval Times restaurant I ve read Ken Follett s two Kingsbridge novels, and I ve been to a few Renaissance Fairs in my time and eatenthan my share of child sized turkey legs , but beyond that, I ve never cared much about the Middle Ages I read Barbara Tuchman s A Distant Mirror The Calamitous 14th Century not for its subject matter, but because Tuchman wrote it My interest in medieval times is not incredibly strong it is, in fact, relegated mostly to the hope of someday going to a Medieval Times restaurant I ve read Ken Follett s two Kingsbridge novels, and I ve been to a few Renaissance Fairs in my time and eatenthan my share of child sized turkey legs , but beyond that, I ve never cared much about the Middle Ages I read Barbara Tuchman s A D...I was a little worried at the start that 600 pages of 14th century history might be, shall we say,a bit too much There is no denying the book is long and very detailed and at times it was a struggle, but every time I was about to give up after yet another pointless battle Tuchman would come up with a telling detail or surprising insight Example the invention of chimneys in the 14th century made separate bedrooms possible and introduced notions of privacy that had never before been possible I was a little worried at the start that 600 pages of 14th century history might be, shall we say,a bit too much There is no denying the book is long and very detailed and at times it was a struggle, but every time I was about to give up after yet another pointless ...I m not quite sure how I came to read this strange and unwieldy book It just kept popping up in my sights For a while now, I ve had a boyish fascination with the Middle Ages, intensified by a couple of years spent studying Old English in grad school, and nursed along since then with occasional books about the Black Death, the Crusades, castle building, and whatever else seemed interesting to me Most of what I ve read has been deeply thought provoking, on the one hand, if somewhat tiresome to I m not quite sure how I came to read this strange and unwieldy book It just kept popping up in my sights For a while now, I ve had a boyish fascination with the Middle Ages, intensified by a couple of years spent studying Old English in grad school, and nursed along since then with occasional books about the Black Death, the Crusades, castle building, and whatever else seemed interesting to me Most of what I ve read has been deeply thought provoking, on the one hand, if somewhat tiresome to read, on the other Norman Cantor, at his best, is an exception, but even he grows drowsily academic There are few g...My grandmother had this book on her shelf for years and I read it as a kid and loved it Of course, I knew the King Arthur legends and pretended to be a knight in shining armour like any other young boy, but reading about the insanity of this period, the rage of the Black Death that killed 30 60% of the population of Europe, the grappling for power by the French and English competitors, the epic battlesit was a mind blower and still is I visited many of the sites since living here in Paris t My grandmother had this book on her shelf for years and I read it as a kid and loved it Of course, I knew the King Arthur legends and pretended to be a knight in shining armour like any other young boy, but reading about the insanity of this period, the rage of the Black Death that killed 30 60% of the population of Europe, the grappling for power by the French and English competitors, the epic battlesit was a mind blower and still is I visited many of the sites since living...Tuchman s books are always interesting, but usually they havethan one can absorb For this reason, reading them is always a bit of a struggle OK, I am merely speaking for myself I am going to try to keep this review short, maybe a reaction to having just completed Tuchman s extensive opus Not every detail need be explained A Distant Mirror covers thoroughly every single aspect of medieval life It covers in detail the battles of the Hundred Years War What is the Hundred Years War Th Tuchman s books are always interesting, but usually they havethan one can absorb For this reason, reading them is always a bit of a struggle OK, I am merely speaking for myself I am going to try to keep this review short, maybe a reaction to having just completed Tuchman s extensive opus Not every detail need be explained A Distant Mirror covers thoroughly every single aspect of medieval life It covers in detail the battle...The Four Horsemen had their way in the fourteenth century Tuchman portrays a brutal decadent European society terrorized and demoralized by the plague, war, violence and deprivation She focuses on France, England and the Italian city states from 1350 to 1400 The religious leaders were hypocritical and prof...The Hundred Years War, the Papal Schism, the Black Death, peasant uprisings, the death of chivalry, crusades, assassinations, tournaments, all these things andTuchman explores through an examination of the life of one man, Enguerrand de Coucy Scion of perhaps the most powerful and wealthiest baronial family in France, Coucy lead a fairly amazing life He fought wars in his homeland of France, Italy, North Africa, Switzerland and Bulgaria, lead important diplomatic missions, twice turned d The Hundred Years War, the Papal Schism, the Black Death, peasant uprisings, the death of chivalry, crusades, assassinations, tournaments, all these things andTuchman explores through an examination of the life of one man, Enguerrand de Coucy Scion of perhaps the most powerful and wealthiest baronial family in France, Coucy lead a fairly amazing life He...

• English
• 15 April 2018
Barbara W. Tuchman
• Paperback
• 677 pages
• 0345349571
• Barbara W. Tuchman
• A Distant Mirror