A Distant Mirror

The Calamitous 14th Century

By: Barbara Tuchman

Narrated by: Aviva Skell

Length: 25 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

The Bubonic Plague of the 14th century killed one third of all human beings in Europe and Western Asia; many who survived the plague killed each other in the Hundred Years War that followed. What was it like to live in this calamitous century, when knighthood (and much more) died a violent death? Find out.

©1978 Barbara W. Tuchman (P)1984 Recorded Books

Masterful Portrait of a Tragic Era

Tuchman’s voice shines among the greatest historians in the English language. This book was an incredible journey.

Difficult to Follow, untranslated French, many dates and names

Some very interesting material in the first 6 chapters on life in Europe during the Middle Ages but in chapter 7, she starts to focus on an individual French nobleman and it becomes an incredibly fast paced whirlwind of French names, dates, and places without any grounding context or cohesiveness. There is also a fair amount of French that the author doesn't bother to translate and a significant number of references to events, people, and places that are not explained or explored. The book feels like it was written for other experts on the period and not the casual history fan. There are still pockets of interesting cultural information and you can sometimes piece together what seems to be happening but the book is read at an incredible speed which leaves the less informed reader in the dust. The French pronunciation is perfect I am sure but if you are unfamiliar with the spelling of french words, as I am, you can't even look up the material yourself to flesh out what you don't understand.

Overall, despite the interesting first 6 chapters, probably not worth the time unless you are already an expert on the Hundred Years' War, speak French, and already have thorough background knowledge of French medieval history. Not for the novice. However! The reader is a greater narrator and has that wonderful old school, ambiguous North Atlantic accent.

Plague and Pillage, Bullies and Brigands

The 14th Century must have been a horrible time to live. Wars, riots, torture, massacres, plague, pillage and corruption were common. The lessons of Barbara Tuchman’s scholarly yet readable history led to one conclusion: people can be very bad!

I learned a lot of medieval history from “A Distant Mirror,” and what I learned did not offer hope. Royalty was often incompetent; the nobles were selfish and brutal, the peasants bigoted. Even a relatively decent and pragmatic man, like the central figure the Lord of Coucy, was capable of cruelty.

The book is very long. Too much was about battles I had never heard of, royal alliances that don’t matter today and nobles whose names are long forgotten. My mind often wandered as I listened, like, what’s for dinner tonight?

The narrator was clear, and her pronunciations of foreign names and words sounded right, but she read too quickly. That kept the book moving, but it made it more difficult to grasp who was doing what to whom.

so much information

incredible information, explored through one person's life as a great story and examination. listen twice.

History lives!

Tuchman not only makes the middle ages come alive, but through story passes on vital lessons we need today.

Tedious

I had tried to read this book before and thought the audiio book would be easier. It was still a lot like reading an encyclopia...lots of names, dates, and places but no thread to make it relevant.

Interesting but hard to listen to it all

Very interesting, but too detailed and fast spoken. God help you for trying.. God Bless.

A very important perspective!

An exceedingly thorough examination of the 14th century. The plague, violent politics, corrupt religion and details of how the culture filled with ignorance and despair manage to survive.

My favourite history ever!!

I love everything about this book. excellent narration, brilliant history, fantastic storytelling. This is the best book I've ever read.

Excellent Narration and Vivid, Well Organized Storytelling

An engaging history of Europe in the late middle ages that loosely traces the life of a specific French nobleman to provide structre.
Clear and energetic narration throughout.
Vivid storytelling that explores the culutural, philosophical, and practical dimensions of medieval life in every class.