A Distant Mirror : The Calamitous 14th Century (CD-Audio)

from nowthatsoriginal

The author begins her introduction, "The genesis of this book was a desire to find out what were the effects on society of the most lethal disaster of recorded history--that is to say, of the Black Death of 1348-50, which killed an estimated one third of the population living between India and Ic...

from wildbill

Barbara Tuchman has been one of my favorite historians since the first time I read Guns of August. I have started A Distant Mirror several times and never got very far. I started this time listening to an audio book and liked it so much I took out my print edition. There is a difference between t...

from Stomp

Well read version of the best book I've come across on what living in the Middle Ages was like. Beyond a fascinating story, it points out what is lasting in our culture, thoughts and beliefs.

from john257hopper

This is a wonderful, rich and absorbing read, covering all aspects of the 14th century in great detail. I read this deliberately fairly slowly, in order to savour it. As others have noted, the focus on Coucy is slightly forced and means, from the point of view of the English reader, that there is...

from drmarymccormack

When I was in school, I never had time to read for pleasure. I couldn't wait till Sunday morning when I would get a couple of hours to just lie in bed and read. I started this book in my last semester of my last year at school and it was killing me to put it down. I brought it on a backpacking tr...