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A review by poppymonster
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman
5.0
This damn book was a ride. I’ve been bothering friends and family with little tidbits that I found fascinating and spent a lot of time pondering the impacts of decisions made so long ago on the world we live in now.
I was, frankly, shocked by the agnostic-leaning writings of the author and the ability she had to draw such an unflattering picture of Christianity. I loved it. I loved that she was so fearless in describing the failings of the religion as a whole and that she threw in the perception of Turkish Muslims in the 14th century of Christianity being a polytheistic religion (although I would have liked MORE of their POV, I understand why the author chose not to focus on that empire). My personal religious issues were triggered frequently by the discourse, but I think it still gave me a valuable point of view.
I appreciated the forward in this book that explains why she chose Engeurrand de Coucy’s life to illuminate the century. I felt she was a bit too kind in describing his character and motivations at times, but he was a good choice.
Also, I didn’t need another reason to hate General Ludendorff (German army commander WW1), but fuck that guy for destroying the castle just because someone asked him not to.
Triggers: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK if you have any triggers. People die in every imaginable way and everything horrible that happens in modern war, with the exception of modern weaponry induced horrors, happened in this century. As far as I remember, there were not any detailed descriptions of SA, but it was touched on.
I was, frankly, shocked by the agnostic-leaning writings of the author and the ability she had to draw such an unflattering picture of Christianity. I loved it. I loved that she was so fearless in describing the failings of the religion as a whole and that she threw in the perception of Turkish Muslims in the 14th century of Christianity being a polytheistic religion (although I would have liked MORE of their POV, I understand why the author chose not to focus on that empire). My personal religious issues were triggered frequently by the discourse, but I think it still gave me a valuable point of view.
I appreciated the forward in this book that explains why she chose Engeurrand de Coucy’s life to illuminate the century. I felt she was a bit too kind in describing his character and motivations at times, but he was a good choice.
Also, I didn’t need another reason to hate General Ludendorff (German army commander WW1), but fuck that guy for destroying the castle just because someone asked him not to.
Triggers: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK if you have any triggers. People die in every imaginable way and everything horrible that happens in modern war, with the exception of modern weaponry induced horrors, happened in this century. As far as I remember, there were not any detailed descriptions of SA, but it was touched on.