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Title details for Powers and Thrones by Dan Jones - Available

Powers and Thrones

A New History of the Middle Ages

by Dan Jones
Dan Jones
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
"Not only an engrossing read about the distant past, both informative and entertaining, but also a profoundly thought-provoking view of our not-really-so-‘new’ present . . . All medieval history is here, beautifully narrated."—Wall Street Journal
"A lively history . . . [Jones] has managed to touch every major topic. As each piece of the puzzle is placed into position, the modern world gradually comes into view . . . Powers and Thrones provides the reader with a framework for understanding a complicated subject, and it tells the story of an essential era of world history with skill and style."—The New York Times

The New York Times bestselling author returns with an epic history of the medieval world—a rich and complicated reappraisal of an era whose legacy and lessons we are still living with today.
When the once-mighty city of Rome was sacked by barbarians in 410 and lay in ruins, it signaled the end of an era—and the beginning of a thousand years of profound transformation. In a gripping narrative bursting with big names—from St Augustine and Attila the Hun to the Prophet Muhammad and Eleanor of Aquitaine—Dan Jones charges through the history of the Middle Ages. Powers and Thrones takes readers on a journey through an emerging Europe, the great capitals of late Antiquity, as well as the influential cities of the Islamic West, and culminates in the first European voyages to the Americas.
The medieval world was forged by the big forces that still occupy us today: climate change, pandemic disease, mass migration, and technological revolutions. This was the time when the great European nationalities were formed; when the basic Western systems of law and governance were codified; when the Christian Churches matured as both powerful institutions and the regulators of Western public morality; and when art, architecture, philosophical inquiry and scientific invention went through periods of massive, revolutionary change.
The West was rebuilt on the ruins of an empire and emerged from a state of crisis and collapse to dominate the world. Every sphere of human life and activity was transformed in the thousand years covered by Powers and Thrones. As we face a critical turning point in our own millennium, Dan Jones shows that how we got here matters more than ever.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 9, 2021

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593452158
      • File size: 703540 KB
      • Duration: 24:25:42

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Dan Jones is a highly skilled popular historian, and his knack for narration makes him a fine match for his own work. In both writing and reading, he's foremost a storyteller. Here he recounts the "long Middle Ages" of Europe and the Near East--from late Rome to the early Renaissance--through well-paced exposition interspersed with illuminating in-depth episodes, a pleasing mixture of overview and detail. His congenial British accent, spry tone, and energy make listening and comprehension easy. His intonation and emphases ensure that the material is clear, and his enthusiasm enlivens it. This canter through a thousand years and more of history is a happy marriage of enjoyment and information. W.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from August 30, 2021
      Historian Jones (Crusaders) covers 1,000 years of world history in this entertaining chronicle of the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Protestant Reformation. Delving into the power struggles and "great forces beyond human control," including climate change and the Black Plague, that helped shape the era, Jones charts the evolution of cultural, military, and religious practices with intriguing case studies and vivid character sketches. A section on the rise of European universities notes that Thomas Aquinas"s brothers sought to dissuade him from studying to become a Dominican friar by "Chiring prostitutes to try to tempt him into sin," and that scholars from the University of Paris played a critical role in the downfall of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century. Though the focus is on Europe, Jones makes clear that the Arabic-speaking world exerted a significant influence on the West, in particular through the dissemination of scientific and philosophical knowledge. Throughout, Jones displays flashes of humor and reveals unexpected links between events and figures, noting, for example, that the patron of Flemish painter Jan van Eyck also helped send Joan of Arc to her death. This richly detailed history will appeal to aficionados and newcomers alike. Agent: Georgina Capel, Georgina Capel Assoc.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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