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The History of the Medieval World

From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade

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The History of the Medieval World

Written by: Susan Wise Bauer
Narrated by: John Lee
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From the schism between Rome and Constantinople to the rise of the T'ang Dynasty, from the birth of Muhammad to the crowning of Charlemagne, this erudite book tells the fascinating, often violent story of kings, generals, and the peoples they ruled. In her earlier work, The History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer wrote of the rise of kingship based on might. But in the years between the fourth and the 12th centuries, rulers had to find new justification for their power, and they turned to divine truth or grace to justify political and military action. Right thus replaces might as the engine of empire. Not just Christianity and Islam but the religions of the Persians and the Germans, and even Buddhism, are pressed into the service of the state. This phenomenon---stretching from the Americas all the way to Japan---changes religion, but it also changes the state.

©2010 Susan Wise Bauer (P)2010 Tantor Ancient Europe Medieval Middle Ages Imperialism Crusade Africa Middle East Royalty Ottoman Empire Military Physical Exercise Ancient History China
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What the critics say

“[A] witty and well-written examination of world history...that is rich in detail and intriguing in anecdotal information.” ( Publishers Weekly)
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Does a great job with the massive task of putting human history on a timeline. the draw back is there is very little detail and color but hese books have helped my mind sew so much together and create more context thats helped me enjoy every other more colorful history book much more.

Does a great job.

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Don’t listen to the other review. This is excellent! Fast pace and lots of fun. Right up there with Will Durant. John Lee is great.

Excellent

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Not as detailed as one would expect, with some regions/major events missing, but still engaging and educational. Having some relevant historical maps around is highly recommended.

Great second volume in the series

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I hoped for an interesting review of the history of this period, as I am familiar with parts of it. However, this book is almost exclusively about battles. It covers Europe, some of the mid-East, some of China, Korea and India, but in a really superficial way. I don't have any better understanding of how their cultures changed and why. I kept hoping the book would improve as it got to more interesting parts, like the Crusades, but it was all about who married who, and who their children were, and who inherited what. I don't recommend this book.

so disappointing

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I hoped listening to this would be easier than reading, as I had done with the previous volume. It is such a brief overview that it is easy to get lost, and I can't say I learned anything specific from this book. I will be looking for more specific books, as clearly there is too much here to make it digestible.

not what I was hoping for

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