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A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century [Paperback]

Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 1 Sep 1991
"Wise, witty, and wonderful . . . A great book, in a great historical tradition." Commentary

The 14th century gives us back two contradictory images: a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and a dark time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world plunged into a chaos of war, fear and the Plague. Barbara Tuchman anatomizes the century, revealing both the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived.

Product details

  • Paperback: 677 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc.; Reissue edition (1 Sep 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0345349571
  • ISBN-13: 978-0345349576
  • Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 3.2 x 21 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 402,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Codiacum, supposedly derived from Codex, codicis, meaning a tree trunk stripped of its branches such as those the Gauls used to build their palisades. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
15 reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A vivid and powerfull insight into life in the 14th century 15 Oct 2001
By john_newstead@bigfoot.com
Format:Paperback
Barbara Tuchman transports the reader from the present world to fourteenth century France where we witness the contradictions, the decline and ultimately the self-destruction of the age of chivalry. We travel on a journey, via the life of a unique French nobleman, to world characterised by conflict and fear. In a world of political ambition, terror, inequality, and exploitation we learn of the great events of the age including the schism of Rome, the great plague, the crusades and the wars with England and other states. Barely surviving was the lowly peasant despite exploitation by state, church, landowner and mercenary alike. A historical tour de force.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A distant mirror - a reflection of life in the 14th century 19 July 2001
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
How interesting can a history of the 14th century be? Extremely!

Barbara Tuchman has an easy reading style which transports the reader into life in 14th century life in England and France. Her vehicle of choice, Enguarrand VI, makes the book palatable and dispenses with the usual "hohum way of writing an historical tome."

The reader is taken on a voyage through this period and is exposed to the trauma which was the normal life for the peasant, and the obscenity, which was the excesses of nobles and kings alike.

A highly recommended book for someone daunted by the thought of reading an historical account. This truly makes easy and excellent reading for all. We are educated by stealth such is the manner in which Tuchman entiwnes us in her story.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, rich and absorbing 16 Dec 2006
By John Hopper TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
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. The focus on Coucy at times seems slightly forced and means, from the point of view of the English reader, that there is relatively little coverage of English history (e.g. only about 7 pages on the Peasants' Revolt). But Coucy does bridge France and England through his marriage to one of Edward III's daughters and, as he also campaigned in Italy, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia Minor, his choice as a focus is understandable from the point of view of covering a broad sweep of location.

Only a few minor points of real criticism: the maps were wrongly placed within my edition and there could have been a few more. The book could also have done with a chronology and probably genealogical tables of the French royal family in particular.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars History Revealed
It's a few years since I read this. I have read quite a few historical books since and this is. The most interesting and informative!
Published 14 months ago by Wjcox
4.0 out of 5 stars A piece of History
Very exciting to receive an old hardback book in good condition, very quickly, at a low price.
The first quarter of the book has copious notes written in pencil in the margin... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Graham
1.0 out of 5 stars NOT AS BAD AS ALL THAT
Barbara Tuchman was an American historian who wrote about several different periods. She was not a specialist and not a medievalist, though she was a fine historian (see... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Stephen Cooper
5.0 out of 5 stars A well written account of a fascinating period of history.
Barabara Tuchman uses the life of the French nobleman Enguarrand VI to explore the 14th century. In doing so she covers amongst other things, the Black Death, the start of the... Read more
Published on 21 April 2011 by steve b
5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely first-rate reconstruction of our medieval soul
This is a wonderfully readable and engrossing book on the period that marked us more deeply - as the source of so many of our touchstone images and ideas - than just about any... Read more
Published on 18 April 2011 by rob crawford
5.0 out of 5 stars A Horrific Century
Barbara Tuchmann's review of the 14th Century in Europe was first published over 30 years ago but it is still much more readable than most books on the subject. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2011 by Ron Ball
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant overview of 14th century Europe
I have read other books on 14th century Europe in the past, but none which bring the century alive in all it's glory, depravity and horror like this book. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2010 by K. Maxwell
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all time top ten books
I have quite a wide range of book interests - history, thrillers, sci-fi, comedy - but this book ranks in my all time top ten books, probably in the top five. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2007 by Mr. Elliot P. Renton
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Read
Having never studied history, or read about it in any great detail, upon being recommended this book by a friend I was somewhat unsure what to expect. Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2003 by Ricolas
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly engrossing introduction to the middle ages
This book made me interested in history. The book is part biography part textbook. It follows the life of the Comte de Courcy a french noble more important than the king of france. Read more
Published on 18 Dec 2002 by "g_monkey"
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