A World Lit Only by Fire

The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age

By: William Manchester

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth, the Renaissance. The latter was a dense explosion of energy that spawned some of history's greatest poets, philosophers, and painters, as well as some of its most spectacular villains.

Knight time: explore our list of titles about the Middle Ages.

©1979, 1980 William Manchester (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"An absorbing and readable history." (School Library Journal)
"Manchester provides easy access to a fascinating age when our modern mentality was just being born." (Chicago Tribune)
"Manchester has not forgotten the skills that, with invective, eloquence, and anecdote, make him a master storyteller."(Kirkus Reviews)

plenty of things to learn about in there

throughout the book I was nagged by the thought "I dont like this narrator but I cant figure out why". when at the end of the book, I still couldnt figure it out. The book reads like a history book and his lack of tone and inflection now seems necessary. Even though the entire book is about how a specific religion was the catalyst of the era, I didnt feel like I was being preached to. In fact, I do not think the author is religious at all. maybe that is why I gave it such high marks . Worth my time for sure. And the authors research on the subject was clearly diligent

Entertaining, but not educational

Well written, interesting, entertaining, but wildly inaccurate scholarship, much of which was already disproven DECADES before the book was published.

a great primer for history

This book reviews history in an orderly and concise way. There is an emphasis on Magellan. narration is somewhat stilted and could use some energy.

Need one on China

wish there was a similar book on China. This book on Europe was super terrific.

Well, I liked it

Well, I liked it. Learned a lot of historical tidbits and smiled a lot. Disagreed with a couple of things, but an author's has a right to his or her opinion. Excellent narrator.

An Excellent Overview

As far as overviews of the Middle Ages go, I would rank this book in my top 3. History is so much more than names and dates; it's cause and effect, action and reaction spurred by motivation and belief systems. The religious and geopolitical minefield of the Medieval era can be incredibly difficult to navigate. Where some overviews are far too simple to be of any use, and others are far too detailed to be effective as overviews, this book serves that perfect middle ground for both beginners and scholars alike. It's an excellent read that serves to pull all lines of thinking together and highlights some of the giants of the age in the process.

I feel bad for dinging the performance

I feel bad for dinging the performance, but I tried reading this the old fashioned way first, and was amazed by how much information, and context of that information, was packed into this book, however it was not an exciting read. I fell asleep reading it so many times that I thought I'd try the audible version. Dry text translates to dry reading I suppose. The low rating on the performance is because it was not was I was hoping for out of a reading. The amazing points just did not sound... Amazing. That may require some heavier interpretation on the readers part than the producer was willing to allow, but this book could really use some more oomph in the telling, in my opinion. It's worth the effort to get through it though, if you are interested in the topic.

Accurate and Complete

It's an unfanciful look at medieval society and life. The book doesn't seem to have a specific goal for the reader so just enjoy the ride, and learn something new about an alien society barely reminiscent of our own.

Perfect for the armchair historian

Admittedly a slight work based on second-hand sources. But, one which was subjected to scrutiny through a peer-review process for historical accuracy. It is successful in providing an overview of the relevant historical developments of the area in their proper historical context. For the amateur historian seeking general knowledge of this era, it is a perfect read (or listen). I've enjoyed this book in print (on the bookshelf behind me) and now in audio format.

Thank you Mr. Manchester.

Somewhat entertaining but highly questionable fact

The author does a good job of conveying the utter strangeness and bleakness of the time, but I question the veracity of some of his examples/hypotheses. For instance the myth of the need for spices to disguise rotten meat. This has been debunked and the fact that the author includes it makes me suspicious of his research. It seems to be just a perpetuation of myths with out actually educating a reader about the real middle ages. There are no citations, or at least none given in the audible version, so I suspect that as far as an academically researched book it doesn't quite make it. The performance is a bit dry but that does deliver a deadpan feel that can be quite funny, so the boverall gets a bit of a higher score.