Book Review -- A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My favorite history professor turned me on to Barbara Tuchman many years ago, and although I started this book back then, I never got around to finishing it until now. It's a very dense book--moreso than any of her others, I think--but it's so well-written and packed full of fascinating details that it still sucks you in and you can almost SEE some of what she's describing. If you're a fan of European history, this is a must-read. It shows the evolution of nationalism, as well as the disasters of the later crusades that still affect us today. It also explains how the combination of 100 years of wars, brigandage and waves of Black Death altered the face and nature of Europe.
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