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| | Location: Home » Fire » General » A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age | August 28, 2008 |
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| A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age | 
 enlarge | Author: William Manchester
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.99
Buy New: $2.93
You Save: $13.06 (82%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $2.93
Avg. Customer Rating:  (195 reviews)
Sales Rank: 4656
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0316545562
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.21
EAN: 9780316545563
ASIN: 0316545562
Publication Date: June 1, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
It speaks to the failure of medieval Europe, writes popular historian William Manchester, that"in the year 1500, after a thousand years of neglect, the roads built by the Romans were still the beston the continent." European powers were so absorbed in destroying each other and in suppressingpeasant revolts and religious reform that they never quite got around to realizing the possibilities ofcontemporary innovations in public health, civil engineering, and other peaceful pursuits. Instead, theywaged war in faraway lands, created and lost fortunes, and squandered millions of lives. For all thewastefulness of medieval societies, however, Manchester notes, the era created the foundation for theextraordinary creative explosion of the Renaissance. Drawing on a cast of characters numbering in thehundreds, Manchester does a solid job of reconstructing the medieval world, although some scholars maydisagree with his interpretations.
Amazon.com
It speaks to the failure of medieval Europe, writes popular historian William Manchester, that "in the year 1500, after a thousand years of neglect, the roads built by the Romans were still the best on the continent." European powers were so absorbed in destroying each other and in suppressing peasant revolts and religious reform that they never quite got around to realizing the possibilities of contemporary innovations in public health, civil engineering, and other peaceful pursuits. Instead, they waged war in faraway lands, created and lost fortunes, and squandered millions of lives. For all the wastefulness of medieval societies, however, Manchester notes, the era created the foundation for the extraordinary creative explosion of the Renaissance. Drawing on a cast of characters numbering in the hundreds, Manchester does a solid job of reconstructing the medieval world, although some scholars may disagree with his interpretations.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 190 more reviews...
 The flavor of the middle ages May 31, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was expecting a history book. I love history books. This was more of a history story, a fireside tale of history. That's ok -- I can take that. It reminds me of Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose -- about the Lewis and Clark expedition.
While *not* a comprehensive history of the Middle Ages, this was a great read. Manchester sketched the time period so clearly. And through this portrait, he brings some of the major thinkers and ideas that quickened into the Renaissance.
The book gives you context for all else you may read about the fall of Rome, the crusaders, the Moors, the scientists, and the explorers. I thought the most memorable character highlighted was Magellan.
And throughout, I considered the book very aptly titled: a world lit only by fire. What can human imagination, human passion, human determination not accomplish?
 A book lit only by fame May 23, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I read this book when it first appeared, and have since carried pleasant if rather vague memories of it. Rereading it some 16 years later, I'm horrified by how bad it is in places, and wonder what in the world I saw in it the first time around.
The opening section entitled "The Medieval Mind" is especially, embarrassingly, bad. In it, Manchester reduces an entire millennium to a quick and spotty sketch (this must account in part for the vagueness of my memories) which is full of over-generalizations (the medieval world wasn't a bona fide "civilization"), simplifications ("there was no room in the medieval mind for doubt; the possibility of skepticism simply did not exist"), and absolute howlers (medieval peasants went naked in the summer; the medieval mind had no spatial and temporal awareness or self-consciousness).
Less bad--but still bad--are the succeeding two sections, both much longer than the opening one on the medieval period (this, despite the book's subtitle). One of the sections is on the Renaissance and Reformation, the other focuses on Magellan and the European "discovery" of the New World (which Manchester tells us was the germ from which the entire book grew). There are some interesting biographical vignettes in the Renaissance section that probably account for my pleasant memories--Savonarola, da Vinci, and Erasmus in particular--but there's no real effort on Manchester's part to wrestle with the meaning of the new humanism that fueled the Renaissance or to explore the intricacies of the Reform revolt against Rome. Instead, he falls back on tired stereotypes; his long account of Martin Luther is especially hackneyed. Manchester's concluding account of Magellan's voyage, with its brief nod to Renaissance astronomy and the science of navigation, is enthusiastic and lively, and is probably the best--or least bad--part of the book. But again, it's sketchy and breathless.
So what accounts for the remarkable popularity of this book? Its quality should've landed it on the out-of-print shelve long ago. My only guess is that Manchester's well-deserved fame for his contemporaneous histories (WWII, Winston Churchill, Douglas MacArthur) bestows a borrowed and undeserved aura of authority on this one. But authors (and their agents and editors) really ought to know when they're in over their heads, and refrain from writing bad copy just because they know they can get it published.
 Oh Dear god May 21, 2008
1 out of 11 found this review helpful
This book is really bad. It plays on every sterotype possible.
I can see why people like it because the author is a good writer. BUT, there is so much wrong with this book its absurd. I literally wanted to rip some of the pages out of this book.
 A Great Read !! May 10, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
In my book, "Astronomical Symbols on Ancient and Medieval Coins", I devote a number of chapters to the astronomical symbols that were depicted on medieval coinage as signs of divine right to sovereignty. As part of my research, I read numerous books on medieval history, and I found that Manchester's book, "A World Lit Only By Fire," was of great value.
In additon to many items of interest that added to my understanding of the history of this period, I found that the book was also a great read. It was hard to put down.
I recommend this book to all who are interested in reading about medieval history.
Marshall Faintich
 Not as wonderful as it sounded April 11, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was not everything that I thought or hoped it would be. It was more about the religious upheavals (for the lack of a better description) than about the people. It focused on the bad behavior of the clergy and major figures of the latter middle ages who changed the religious landscape. And it focused more on the last two or three centuries of the middle ages than it did on the entire of span of the middle ages.
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