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A review by knicke25
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman
5.0
Finished! It took a whole month and I was not ready for it to end when it did. I've never studied history in depth, and so I'm not sure quite what to say about this, except that I was blown away and immediately submitted an AskMetafilter question so I could find more books like this, as well as lectures, podcasts, etc. Planning to read Tuchman's other books on other eras when I can.
Can't say what part had the greatest effect on me - listening to this was like swimming in a deep, inexorable river of time, it just kept flowing. I was struck (cliche though this is) at how there is really not a thing new under the sun - the 100 Years War certainly puts current conflicts into some perspective. The epilogue actually made me a little teary, although it was sort of weirdly comforting, too. How easily the marks of individual humanity can be swept away to make way for something new. Nothing is ever really permanent.
Great book.
Can't say what part had the greatest effect on me - listening to this was like swimming in a deep, inexorable river of time, it just kept flowing. I was struck (cliche though this is) at how there is really not a thing new under the sun - the 100 Years War certainly puts current conflicts into some perspective. The epilogue actually made me a little teary, although it was sort of weirdly comforting, too. How easily the marks of individual humanity can be swept away to make way for something new. Nothing is ever really permanent.
Great book.