Product Description

With a lucid and clear narrative style William Chester Jordan has turned his considerable talents to composing a standard textbook of the opening centuries of the second millennium in Europe. He brings this period of dramatic social, political, economic, cultural, religious and military change, alive to the general reader. Jordan presents the early Medieval period as a lost world, far removed from our current age, which had risen from the smoking rubble of the Roman Empire, but from which we are cut off by the great plagues and famines that ended it. Broad in scope, punctuated with impressive detail, and highly accessible, Jordan's book is set to occupy a central place in university courses of the medieval period.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #232776 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

About the Author
William Chester Jordan is Professor of History at Princeton University and the author of THE GREAT FAMINE.

Customer Reviews

Short precise but lacking....
Penguin have always produced concise historical books that can introduce immense periods to new scholars.This is one of the reasons why they are so popular, however by writing for this audience these books can descend into the narrative.
Being a history student, I've always been taught the vices of the narrative.As history is no fictional story,but events which have shaped the modern secular world. This leads to one of the flaws of the aforementioned book, its haphazard approach to Medieval Europe. Firstly, it begins with narrative to describe key time periods with the history of Europe.However, these periods are disrupted by the author who provides indepth commentary of certain conditions in Europe, the rise of serfdom, the Church's centralised control etc.... I can understand, in hindsight, why the author does this, as all his commentaries do have a direct link with that time period (for example the rise of Western Culture in direct response to the success of the first Crusade at the end of the eleventh century which opened Europe to the widely publicised twelfth century renaissance in governmental practices.). However, in my opinions it makes for a difficult read, as I was frustrated by my reading being interrupted by extraneous commentary.
In conclusion, this book I would recommend,however I did find the style perplexing. Give it time and you should be able to digest all the facts and understand the hectic climate of Europe during this interesting period of upheavel.