Type of bind: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Back Bay Books
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: June 01, 1993
Publishing house: Back Bay Books
Sale Popularity Level: 539577
Studio: Back Bay Books
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
With more than 200,000 copies sold in hardcover and paperback, William Manchester's A World Lit Only by Fire is the preeminent popular history of civilization's rebirth after the Dark Ages. Though the paperback edition remains available, this durable hardcover is an indispensable volume for any Manchester fan or history buff with a serious home library.
Amazon.com Review:
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.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
I was taken aback when, within the very first chapter, the author noted how Alaric (the Goth) had difficulty keeping his Huns (no kidding) from sacking Rome. I wanted to give Manchester the benefit of a doubt, but within the very first chapter he totally neglected factual content in favor of anti-western, anti-Christian diatribe. While still in the opening portion of the book, Manchester went on to provide so crude a summary of Augustine's philosophies that I can't believe he actually read any of Augustine's works; instead, I think he just skimmed a few books for juicy quotes that could be taken out of context. Manchester's quick to tell us that Charlemagne was illiterate but fails to mention that Charlemagne's patronage kept much of the work of classical Europe alive through the "Dark Ages".
The book isn't even intersting reading. Manchester is so intent on derisively simplifying the turbulent ages following the fall of Rome, that every historical character he writes about comes across as 2-dimensional -- blood thirsty and ignorant. On the other had, you never know; he might behave the same too if he had those "Huns" sacking his city.
A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an AgeA World Lit Only By Fire
Rated by buyers 
-
What an entertaining review of history. Manchester accomplishes what he said he set out to do(read the authors note); that is, produce a review of almost two thousand years of history in a single volume. Necessarily that means the focus is limited; he picks various elements of European history in the dark ages and includes a more substantial section devoted to Magellan's Great Voyage.
Every popular history book I have ever read has come under withering criticism on Amazon from some "expert" who invariably asserts that the author got 5 or 6 "facts" of history wrong; thereby in their mind discrediting the entire book. Don't listen to them here.
I am a 48 year old father who runs a business and has three kids in college. This is the history I have time for. I lack the time and scholarly credentials to go the the original sources. What Manchester does for me is exactly what I need him to do- boil it down to a manageable number of topics, provide the anecdotes and personality quirks that bring the history to life, and above all- give me the perspective that his trained historians mind can.
My only complaint is that in the end, the title is inaccurate; huge advances in science, theology, philosophy and technology all occurred in this period that was illuminated by much more than just fire.
For those who enjoy this book, I would strongly recommend Tom Hollands work on Rome (Rubicon) and the Greek/Persian conflicts (Persian Fire).
Rated by buyers -
The last time that the name of the late well-know journalist and history writer William Manchester was mentioned in this space was in a review of his biography of World War II and Korean War General Douglas MacArthur,the self-promoting American Caesar. Previously Manchester had also done an analysis of the John F. Kennedy assassination so that he is well versed in the meaning of history and the importance of particular historical facts-as opposed to the self-serving and fraudulent press releases.
The central story of Manchester's effort here, that takes up about one third of the book, also concerns one of those larger than life historical figures from an earlier period in Western history, the career of the Portuguese explorer extraordinaire Ferdinand Magellan. However, if this was solely Manchester's purpose that might be worthily satisfied by an extended monogram. He has provided as well, despite his penchant for great heroic figures, a very readable look at the dawn of capitalism as it emerged out of the mire of what used to be known in historical studies as the "Dark Ages".
In the process of that exposition Manchester has done an interesting job of detailing much of the history of those dark ages- a period of history that today's readers may not be familiar with but which was an important precursor to the development of European capitalism and to the history of the international labor movement that Karl Marx wrote about in the 19th century. Manchester runs quickly through the decline of the Roman Empire, the rise and stabilization of the Christian church in the wake of that decline and its role as the international (at least for Europe) arbiter of the political, economic and social world of the times. With the understanding that Manchester's effort here is of a piece with his general theory about the role of heroes in history those of us more familiar with the period can begin to understand something of the nature of the changes that were occurring at the time that his protagonist Magellan was accomplishing his feat in the early 16th century (circumnavigating the earth and therefore empirically proving that the earth was a sphere).
The heart of the book for us, however, is the detailed description that he provides for the bulk of the 16th century an extraordinary period that saw the breakthrough of international trade westward as well as eastward, the rise of nation-states as segments of society gained literacy and began to express themselves in their home languages, the development of cities as centers of commerce creating the conditions for a division of labor that would later form the basis for industrial capitalism, the struggle between the secular and the sacred in determining the course of social life including some very saucy stories about Popes, princes and their ladies(the Borgias in particular), the feuding between various religious factions most notably between the Roman Church and Martin Luther of Germany and Henry VIII of England and the flowering of artistic culture and learning that we can observe remnants of yesterday in any major art museum.
Historical materialists look at the history of any period to determine its main thrust. Manchester has done a more than adequate job of detailing those events and movements that caused the decline of Europe for approximately one thousand years from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance. The most important aspect of this book and the one that makes me want to recommend it to today's readers is its study of the late 15th and early 16th century- a time when dramatic changes were occurring that would begin the long process of accumulating the expertise to create the progressive capitalist system. Without the changes in the manner of religious thinking, ways of producing goods and notions of culture it is possible that Europe, and through it the world might be very different today- and not for the better.
That is true as long as we don't forget in that content the down side of this spurt in human culture- the rise of colonialism that accompanied international exploration, the religious wars that torn apart families and nations and the rise of a middle class cultural ethos that has placed more than its fair share on individual self-fulfillment at the expense of the social and gone some distance to slow the struggle for socialism down. If you need a quick look at the broad picture of what happened to make Europe a central cog in world history from the 15th century on read this little work to whet your appetite. Then go out and get some more specialized books to appease it.
Rated by buyers -
Once I got over the missing end notes and misleading fact-bending throughout, I thoroughly enjoyed this romp through Europe 500 years ago. "Tabloid History" [as one other reviewer calls it] indeed.
Christians be wary of taking offense at Manchester's many jabs. I prefer to think he is scaring us out of our demonizing tendencies. In the end, you will have a better view of the reformation than most college courses in the subject provide AND you may even wonder how the same popes that appreciated Michelangelo could get their politics and economics so badly wrong.
Read "Pillars of the Earth" for a slightly darker view and "Van Loon's Lives" for an even better take on Erasmus. However, Manchester's Luther is worth the price of the book.
Rated by buyers -
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?
Find other books like this one:
