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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2010/04/barbara-w-tuchman-distant-mirror.html
In audio form this book was 28 hours long. Parts were fascinating and parts were much less so, to me, and overall I'm glad I tackled it. I've always been interested in the period of the Black Death, and I learned a lot about the Papal Schism (previously I barely knew there had been one), battle tactics in the age of chivalry and the blended history of England and France.
I had heard of the book for ages and listened to Guns of August, finally deciding to read it after watching the BBC show Merlin. At the very end there was an odd connection to that show. The book follows the life of a noble named Coucy. After his death his estate passed to the crown and at some point after that, it was proposed to restore his castle, but instead, the funds and personnel were devoted on another structure: Pierrefonds, the castle used as Camelot.
I had heard of the book for ages and listened to Guns of August, finally deciding to read it after watching the BBC show Merlin. At the very end there was an odd connection to that show. The book follows the life of a noble named Coucy. After his death his estate passed to the crown and at some point after that, it was proposed to restore his castle, but instead, the funds and personnel were devoted on another structure: Pierrefonds, the castle used as Camelot.
Published in the late 70’s, this book is cited from time to time as a history recommendation. While I appreciated this book, I found myself stymied by the audio version as the narrator is one of my least favorite voice readers: the high pitched and heavily accented speaker is really difficult to understand at times spoiling what would otherwise have been a much better experience. In spite of that I would still like to read Tuchman’s WWI account and just hope it’s not the same voice narrator.
An interesting study of the fourteenth century that went into detail on the social, economic, intellectuall, poltical and religious trends of the day. I never knew how the fourteenth century was really the breaking point between the Middle Ages and early modern Europe. It is very well written, with doses of humor and ties to other time periods that help set the era in context. My only complaint is that she continually tries to make the nobleman she concentrates on seem better than the others of his time. Maybe he was, but it took away from the other points made. All in all , a well researched, enjoyable book that made me more interested in this century of history.
I love Tuchman's approach to history. She is so readable and in this work makes the Middle Ages and the Crusades come to life. Grand stuff.
Loved this book, and love this era.
I did wish for shorter chapters at times.
I did wish for shorter chapters at times.
Noted for her use of primary sources. Her books are dense reads.
Rating this one four stars this time because it really does show how absolutely insane this century was. I couldn't believe how much stuff happened that could fill books of its own. I did like it more the second time around because I know more about the era in general and I could see how it influenced the ideas of a professor I had for a history class.
Original review
2.5
This truly should have been a biography on Coucy. The title is very misleading, although it goes into the general things that happened in the fourteenth century, though they mainly revolved around Coucy and his hand in the events. Nonetheless, it was good and interesting. A bit more in depth on random things than I thought it would be, so it was tedious. Easy to space out during when I wasn't interested, but easy to pay attention to when it was on something I was interested in.
Original review
2.5
This truly should have been a biography on Coucy. The title is very misleading, although it goes into the general things that happened in the fourteenth century, though they mainly revolved around Coucy and his hand in the events. Nonetheless, it was good and interesting. A bit more in depth on random things than I thought it would be, so it was tedious. Easy to space out during when I wasn't interested, but easy to pay attention to when it was on something I was interested in.