From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose, and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth--the dense explosion of energy that spawned some of history's greatest poets, philosophers, painters, adventurers, and reformers, as well as some of its most spectacular villains--the Renaissance.
Editorial Reviews
"Manchester provides easy access to a fascinating age when our modern mentality was just being born." --Chicago Tribune
"Lively and engaging, full of exquisite details and anecdotes that transform this period--usually murky--into a comprehensive tableau." --Dallas Morning News
"Manchester's marvelously vivid popular history humanizes the tumultuous span from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance." --Publishers Weekly
About the Author
William Manchester (1902–2004) was Professor of History Emeritus at Wesleyan University. His bestselling books, which have been translated into eighteen languages and Braille, include The Last Lion, a multi-volume biography of Winston Churchill; American Caesar, a biography of Douglas MacArthur; The Death of a President, The Arms of Krupp, and A World Lit Only by Fire.
