A Distant Mirror

The Calamitous Fourteenth Century

By: Barbara W. Tuchman

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Length: 28 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A “marvelous history”* of medieval Europe, from the bubonic plague and the Papal Schism to the Hundred Years’ War, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Guns of August

*Lawrence Wright, author of The End of October, in The Wall Street Journal

The fourteenth century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and the exquisitely decorated Books of Hours; and on the other, a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague.

Barbara Tuchman reveals both the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived. Here are the guilty passions, loyalties and treacheries, political assassinations, sea battles and sieges, corruption in high places and a yearning for reform, satire and humor, sorcery and demonology, and lust and sadism on the stage. Here are proud cardinals, beggars, feminists, university scholars, grocers, bankers, mercenaries, mystics, lawyers and tax collectors, and, dominating all, the knight in his valor and “furious follies,” a “terrible worm in an iron cocoon.”

©1978 Barbara W. Tuchman (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Beautifully written, careful, and thorough in its scholarship.... What Ms. Tuchman does superbly is to tell how it was.... No one has ever done this better." (New York Review of Books)

"Barbara Tuchman at the top of her powers.... A beautiful, extraordinary book.... She has done nothing finer." (Wall Street Journal)

Superb from beginning to end

As read here, this is one of my favourite books
of all time. I do not know how many times I have run through it, but always hearing something new

Narration spectacular

Given the sometimes dry chronicle (but at other times insightful narrative) the narrator set gold standard for a most challenging work

Wow!

A comprehensive & absorbing history of the Medieval world! Well-written, researched, and read. Very good!

a wealth of medieval info

really got me interested in reading more about the middle ages. Tuchman knows how to tell a story!

Don't waste your time with Game of Thrones

History is always better than fantasy. Even fantasy based on history.

One of the better history books I have read. This should be a textbook. It's not factoid nonsense.

It is hard to imagine living in these times but Tuchman does a great job of walking down the road of a single family's life. That gives these stories a lot to relate to and a lot of context. A great way to write a history book. Bravo.

Very enjoyable and informative

Any additional comments?

I thought this was a very well written and well-narrated book. I particularly like how the author wrapped the story around the life of one particular person of the time. It was a nice touch that held everything together. I have to say that if I were to start reading this book,l probably would not make it past chapter 2 because the book discusses events in France a great deal -- and I would have been frustrated by my inability to keep up with who is who. However, the narrator does a good job and I did not have any trouble with it at all. I highly recommend anyone interested in history listen to this book and be on the look out for pointy shoes, the anti-pope, and inbred the leaders of these countries were!

Excellent Narrator!

I very much enjoyed this book.
So much to be learned. One of the best reader/narrators that I’ve ever experienced.

Not the Guns of August

I thoroughly enjoyed the Guns of August and was looking forward to more work from this author. I was disappointed that this book lacked the context and drama of her previous work. This book reminded me too much of High school history. One damned thing after another.

A classic

I'm not sure how many times I've read this book over the years, but it's well worth a listen in audio book format. I noticed details that eluded me on earlier readings.

Barbara Tuchman has the ability to safely guide her readers through the intricacies of Medieval Chivalry, the Roman Catholic schism, the Black Death, and dynastic marriage ties.

The narrator is perfect, never stumbling, whatever the language.

Incredible level of detail

This was an extremely thorough, detailed look at the life and cultural context of a French nobleman and the history he and his European contemporaries were influenced by and influenced.