City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500

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.Constantinople: The Last Great Siege, 1453
City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500
by: Roger Crowley

November 02, 2006
An excellent read. Think of the sieges in LOTR's the twin towers and return of the king rolled into one, but this actually happened!. This is one of the most exciting, enthralling and entertaining histories I've ever read.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, buy it and be amazed.
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.1434: The Year a Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance
City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500
by: Gavin Menzies

July 01, 2008
Garbage.
That's what this is. Garbage. It's bad enough that the fore-runner to this book was swallowed hook, line, and sinker by the gullible thousands; but for a sequel, even more outlandish in its thesis, to receive a similar welcome is a poor reflection on the intelligence of the average reader.
There are thousands, if not millions, of academic books, papers, theses, and disseratations that paint a different image of how China and Europe shared knowledge. None of them mention this armada.
Garbage.
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.The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (Oxford Illustrated Histories)
City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500
from: Oxford Paperbacks

January 18, 2001
Don't be put off by the title - this is no mere picture book. It contains a series of essays on many aspects of Viking history, complemented by excellent illustrations and photographs, including both art from the period and pictures of Viking artefacts. The essays are written clearly and concisely, exploring topics such as Viking religion, shipbuilding and settlement in England, and make fascinating reading.
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Used Price: £10.00

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.A History of Medieval Europe: From Constantine to Saint Louis
City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500
by: R.H.C. Davis

December 06, 2005
I recently did a module about Medieval Europe for my History Degree and I found this book extremely useful. All subjects that you may have lectures or seminars about will definitely be covered in this book although some are obviously skimmed over a bit as it is a very general textbook. I'd use this book as a starting point to get an idea of the topics covered in Medieval history so that you can put them in context. The only thing that isn't covered that well in this book, though it's the same with all the Medieval textbooks I've read, is the idea of the "the Other". This textbook has a very fleeting mention of the treatment of Jews, Homosexuals and other deviancy in Medieval Europe. If you require information on this then I'd recommend you read up ... Read More:
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.A Short History of the Middle Ages, second edition
City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500
by: Barbara H. Rosewein

August 01, 2004
This is an excellent introduction to the Middle Ages for the student or interested reader. It covers Europe and also Islam.
The scholorship is up to date and incisive. The colour pictures mean that the book is also attractive and colourful.
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.The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Saqi Essentials)
City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500
from: Saqi Books

February 17, 2001
This book highlights the dangers inherent in journalists writing history. The author has a lively style and the book is ceratinly readable (one previous reviewer even fooled into thinking it's a novel!) but it is very poor as history. It lacks objectivity and although presents us with a very interesting account of events from the Arab point of view and is critical of the Muslim states and their inability to work together, displays the author's ignorance (or deliberate lack of interest in) their opponents. Western authors have been writing more balanced views of the religious wars in the middle east for some time as any serious student of mediaeval history is well aware and this books pretensions at presenting 'the other side' is disingenuous. To sum ... Read More:
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.The Travels of Ibn Battutah
City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500
by: Ibn Battutah

June 06, 2003
Ibn Battuta was a medieval traveller from modern day Morocco. He was a Qadi (judge) who travelled, lived and worked in large swathes of the ancient world ranging from China, India, Ceylon, Sub Saharan Africa, and the Middle East! A feat one wonders if ever has been repeated.

The book is an autobiography written in the first person that details and describes his extensive travels in the form of a journal, dictated in the first person. The book gives an incite of the Islamic culture, customs and habits, as well as his perception (from the prospect of a Medieval Muslim) of his interactions and private thoughts with and of other cultures, be it Christendom, China, or even different Muslim regions.

I found that it opened up my ... Read More:
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.The Renaissance (Seminar Studies In History)
City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500
by: Alison Brown

May 12, 1999
Ibn Battuta was a medieval traveller from modern day Morocco. He was a Qadi (judge) who travelled, lived and worked in large swathes of the ancient world ranging from China, India, Ceylon, Sub Saharan Africa, and the Middle East! A feat one wonders if ever has been repeated.

The book is an autobiography written in the first person that details and describes his extensive travels in the form of a journal, dictated in the first person. The book gives an incite of the Islamic culture, customs and habits, as well as his perception (from the prospect of a Medieval Muslim) of his interactions and private thoughts with and of other cultures, be it Christendom, China, or even different Muslim regions.

I found that it opened up my ... Read More:
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.The Vikings
City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500
by: Else Roesdahl, Sue Margeson, Kirsten Williams

April 30, 1998
This book is wonderful, not only does it tell about the important deterministic aspects of the Viking age. But it also tells you the smaller aspects such as the colthes they wore and they brooches they created. I have read many viking books and never before been so interested in what the historian ad to say.
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.Atlantic World: A History, 1400-1888
City Travel Guides > Books > 501-1500
by: Douglas Egerton

May 09, 2007
This book is wonderful, not only does it tell about the important deterministic aspects of the Viking age. But it also tells you the smaller aspects such as the colthes they wore and they brooches they created. I have read many viking books and never before been so interested in what the historian ad to say.
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Used Price: £24.31