Product Description

Chronicles the historical transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and focuses on riveting figures such as Leonardo da Vinci, Lucrezia Borgia, Henry VIII, and others. By the author of Death of a President. Reprint. PW.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15802 in Books
• Published on: 1993-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 322 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780316545563
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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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.

From Publishers Weekly
Manchester's marvelously vivid popular history humanizes the tumultuous span from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance. A one-week PW bestseller in cloth. Illustrations.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-- An absorbing and readable history, beginning with the collapse of Rome and ending with the redawning of intellectual pursuits in the Renaissance. Manchester's vivid descriptions of the misery and ignorance of the Middle Ages are the background for the second and main section of his book, which he calls the "shattering,"--the collapse of essentially unified thought and the rebirth of the pursuit of knowledge. His last section focuses on Magellan and his historic voyage, described as a primary event in contributing to Western man's changing view of the world. The story of his efforts to obtain backing for his venture is engrossing; the difficulties of the voyage are made real enough to feel.
- Philip D. Winters, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Manchester's Reign of Error
Any work of history is bound to have a few errors of fact or interpretation, but "A World Lit Only By Fire" is riddled with astonishing inaccuracies. At one point, Manchester claims that Copernicus was burned at the stake by the Inquisition. In fact, Copernicus died of natural causes (cerebral haemorrhage) in 1543! Publication of his "Book of Revolutions" was actually encouraged by certain Church officials during his lifetime, and the book was not proscribed by the Church until 73 years after it was published. Perhaps Manchester was thinking of Giordano Bruno, or perhaps he was not thinking at all. Another example: His description of John Calvin's bloodthirsty doings relies on heavily biased secondary sources, many of which have been discredited by serious historians. There's no need to bring up further examples, since Manchester himself claims in his introduction that a historian who read the manuscript disagreed with statements on almost every page of this book. It seems safe to assume that Manchester's unwillingness to correct or qualify these statements was the result of his having an axe to grind. If you have even a glancing acquaintance with medieval history, you'll be shocked by Manchester's willful disregard for basic facts. If you're new to the subject and want a good introduction, try Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror" or Norman Cohn's "Pursuit of the Millennium."

European history as tabloid cover story
Having enjoyed William Manchester's works in the past, and being interested in the material supposedly covered in this book, I was prepared to enjoy A World Lit Only by Fire when I sat down with it. But, as much as I would have liked to, I couldn't.

Manchester states that he's no expert on the period, and neither am I, but even I could see the glaring and seemingly endless number of factual errors throughout the book, not to mention the myths (such as that of "la belle Ferroniere" and Francis I) he presents as fact. The book isn't really even about the Middle Ages, aside from twenty or so pages Manchester devotes to outlining that thousand years of European history. The majority of the book is dedicated to Renaissance and post-Renaissance Europe, and a sizable chunk of that is solely concerned with the career of Magellan.

This would be acceptable, of course, if Manchester's "history" wasn't just a rehash of 19th (!) century clichés and stereotypes about the Middle Ages: that is, a Europe composed wholly of mud, blood, sex, torture and ridiculous superstition, utterly worthless and depraved. And although I'm certainly not a fan of the Catholic Church, Manchester's endless cavalcade of largely unsubstantiated potshots at that institution is particularly annoying. If this book was someone's sole source of information on the time period, they'd be excused for thinking that Europe from the fall of Rome to the rediscovery of Classical culture in the Renaissance was pretty much composed of people expiring from sexually transmitted diseases... when they weren't poisoning popes and burning witches, that is.

So, why two stars and not one? A World Lit Only by Fire may be tabloid history, but it could be considered a guilty pleasure if you keep in mind that it's utter nonsense. The portion of the book dedicated to Magellan is also a cut above the rest. Given that the majority of readers will probably be utterly ignorant about this time period, though, it's pretty irresponsible of Manchester to present a bunch of unrelated half-truths and myths as history. He says in his Author's Note--along with various other veiled apologies--that he didn't plan out the writing of this book in advance and it certainly shows.

If you want to read about the time period covered in this book without sacrificing facts for readability (or vice versa), try A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman, the appropriate volumes of The Story of Civilization by Will Durant (The Age of Faith, The Renaissance, and The Reformation) or The Civilization of the Middle Ages by Norman Cantor. They show that reading about this period can be both entertaining and informative, even if there isn't a bloodthirsty, syphilitic twelve year-old bishop on every page.

Nevermind the naysayers-- READ THIS BOOK!
Upon reading the collection of negative and indignant reviews of _A World Lit Only By Fire_ it seems obvious to me that many readers completely misunderstood Manchester's purpose in writing it. If you are looking to pass a pop quiz on medieval history or to find the standard party line on the Middle Ages, don't look to Manchester's daring piece. If you are interested in an observant, insightful, juicy, and imaginative portrait of the Western World in upheaval, this book certainly qualifies. The book is anything but clinical and objective. That fact has obviously ruffled the feathers of dusty, party-line medieval history buffs who want a 300-page series of facts and dates. But the book's honest subjectivity and willingness to judge the important people of the past are what make it worth reading. Anyone who believes historical writing is anything but the author's opinion about the past is fooling themselves, and at least Manchester does not attempt to cloak his conjecture in a stodgy air of authority. _A World Lit Only By Fire_ is a fascinating and colorful take on the transition from Roman Empire to Renaissance and Reformation, written by a superbly intelligent, articulate, and bold historian. It is not a historical reference manual and does not pretend to be. Hopefully, you wouldn't want to read one of those things, anyway.