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The Structures of Everyday Life: Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century: 1: Structure of Everyday Life Vol 1 (Civilization & Capitalism)
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2 new or used available from £34.95
Average customer review:
Product Description
The first volume in this beautifully illustrated and highly acclaimed economic and social history of the world from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution covers the richness and complexity of everyday life - food, drink, dress, housing, money, the development of towns - with the technique of a pointilliste.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #833300 in Books
- Published on: 2002-01-17
- Original language: French
- Binding: Paperback
- 628 pages
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Fernand Braudel was France's greatest historian. He was the founder - along with March Bloch and Lucian Febvre - of Annales, the journal which changed the face of historical writing in the 1960s.
Customer Reviews
Dry and academic? I don't think so
This book fits in a set of three books that Braudel wrote about what he decribes as civilization and capitalism in the period in questions (15th-18th century). Anyone who has been taught history as a series of battles and wars, political events, struggles of royal succession might be surprised by these books: they give the 'other side' of history - the practical and economic realities faced by real people and real businesses through the period in question. They do that by plentiful reference to real examples and this makes this book and the others really interesting. These books combine visual and textual interest with a sound academic and research base: not usual - people who really know what they are talking about can be so, so boring.
This volume is about what life was like for real people: food, drink, clothes, everyday materials, money, jobs, town life etc. but unlike many books which focus only on 'finer' things (what aristocrats wore, jewellery, fine paintings) this book seeks to convey the realities for people as a whole. Very very interesting.
Although my interest tends to be with the other books in the trilogy, and this was the last one I bought, I have found it to be very interesting - very easy to dip into and get something from as interesting pictures/ maps/ statistics are spread throughout the book. I almost gave it five stars.
