Scan barcode
abby_dexar's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.75
I’ve seen people complaining in reviews that the book was bad structured, clearly subjective and superficial. But it was basically written by the author in the introduction, that it is not a serious work rather his thoughts on the subject. So I was ready for it and the book delivered. Great for those who already knows a thing or two about Medieval times, might be confusing to those who is new to the theme (again this is also stated by the author). Good historical outline of the period, but if you are looking for more deep and academic work it’s not the book to turn to.
colida's review against another edition
The book wasn’t well structured. Most of the time I did not understand what was included why and when and why other things were left out. I also think that the author has some very strong opinions and I would rather read a book that gives a broader overview about different opinions on different topics concerning the Middle Ages
jensteerswell's review against another edition
3.0
What I liked about it: As I've said before, I'm a nerd and a lot of my non-fiction reading choices are made like this: I read a review and think, 'Wow. I don't know much about that subject. And if the Economist/New Yorker/Slate etc. finds this book good enough to give it a positive review, maybe I should give it a try.' I'm also a dilettante: I want to know a few facts about a subject, but it's comparatively rare that I want to dig down deep into a subject. So books that offer a survey of a topic while giving me a few good tidbits to bring up at dinner parties are great. And this one delivers: for example, did you know that people with blood type B are more resistant to the bubonic plague? And for some reason a lot of Hungarians are blood type B? And therefore Hungary escaped the plague relatively unscathed? Also, it is strongly suspected that many medieval female 'authors' such as Heloise of Abelard and Heloise, and Marguerite de Navarre, probably did not write their books, because female literacy rates were appalling, and probably no women were actually taught to write.
What I didn't like about it: This is just a personal preference, but I find it a lot easier to get into a subject, even dilettantishly, if I have a plot line and characters to follow, and this book lacks both.
omnibrowbooks.blogspot.com
What I didn't like about it: This is just a personal preference, but I find it a lot easier to get into a subject, even dilettantishly, if I have a plot line and characters to follow, and this book lacks both.
omnibrowbooks.blogspot.com
More...