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maxschuman's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
2.75
I did learn some stuff from this book, which is pretty good for somebody who knows a decent amount about world history. But a couple of gripes with this book as a finished product:
- inherently, a shorter book that claims to cover about 1000 years of history is just not going to cover it in the level of depth I’m looking for
- relatedly, I thought there was going to be a clearer thesis that this book would be arguing. Instead, it was more of a holistic narrative, with many shorter chapters about specific subjects rather than picking a few aspects of medieval life that really support a thesis. The basic claim of the book is that the “dark ages” aren’t really a thing, but I don’t think it does a great job explaining what it means by dark ages. It also ties those arguments to right-wing politics in the modern day as a motivating factor, when I’d prefer that they engage with more good-faith believers in the “dark ages” to refute the claims.
Overall, you could learn some nuggets from this, and it was a very digestible read (particularly in audiobook form, hard to find audiobooks about history that work), but I think it’s going to fall away from my mind pretty quickly because of its lack of depth and focus.
- inherently, a shorter book that claims to cover about 1000 years of history is just not going to cover it in the level of depth I’m looking for
- relatedly, I thought there was going to be a clearer thesis that this book would be arguing. Instead, it was more of a holistic narrative, with many shorter chapters about specific subjects rather than picking a few aspects of medieval life that really support a thesis. The basic claim of the book is that the “dark ages” aren’t really a thing, but I don’t think it does a great job explaining what it means by dark ages. It also ties those arguments to right-wing politics in the modern day as a motivating factor, when I’d prefer that they engage with more good-faith believers in the “dark ages” to refute the claims.
Overall, you could learn some nuggets from this, and it was a very digestible read (particularly in audiobook form, hard to find audiobooks about history that work), but I think it’s going to fall away from my mind pretty quickly because of its lack of depth and focus.
daniele_f's review against another edition
It's interesting but very basic, in the sense that it offers a very good survey of the recent developments in medieval history and historiography but if one is relatively up to date with the subject, it offers nothing new. In my case I found no new interesting things in it. But I would still recommend it.
kirkdean547's review against another edition
2.0
The vitriol that this book receives in some of the comments seems to stem from the opinion that the authors are ignoring the atrocities of the middle ages. I ask these readers to go back and read the epilogue. Bright is not an equivalent to moral good in all cases. In fact, the authors talk about the brightness of blood from slain people and burning books-both violent, destructive things. I think the authors are just trying to add to the conversation by illuminating the parts of the middle ages that are often overlooked-the scholarship, art, religious tolerance (in some cases), cross-cultural exchange, etc. We are given this picture that everything after the Renaissance had to be better than the previous age. In some things, we are much better. In other respects, we have made things so much worse. So, it's more nuanced, as all history is. I do think this book is better taken in the context of a more formal history course or other academic sources about the middle ages. Those things will help shape and give broader strokes in which these focused case studies can be set.
All this being said, I was fortunate to receive a history class that covered all of the general trends put forward by this book. I imagine that most people who have taken a World History or European History course in the past 20 years will feel the same way as the ideas in the book have taken hold in most good textbooks. The only things I felt I learned that were new involved the more detailed descriptions of people and buildings. Enjoyable somewhat, but wouldn't say it's a must-read.
All this being said, I was fortunate to receive a history class that covered all of the general trends put forward by this book. I imagine that most people who have taken a World History or European History course in the past 20 years will feel the same way as the ideas in the book have taken hold in most good textbooks. The only things I felt I learned that were new involved the more detailed descriptions of people and buildings. Enjoyable somewhat, but wouldn't say it's a must-read.
geovanachi's review against another edition
It’s definitely one of my best reads!!
bauke's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
3.75
A nice read, interesting perspective on the 'bright ages', but some topics could have been covered in a bit more depth, such as democracy. Also the chapters dive into many different topics, places and periods, so don't expect anything too comprehensive.