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Shop nowA World Lit Only by Fire
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Learn moreThe preeminent popular history of civilization’s rebirth after the Dark Ages
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 Renaissance, a dense explosion of energy that spawned some of history’s greatest poets, philosophers, and painters, as well as some of its most spectacular villains.
One of the most volatile periods of western history witnessed the passing of the Dark Ages and the dawning of the Renaissance, illuminated by magnificent scientific and artistic achievements and spectacular leaps of thought and imagination. Manchester’s narrative weaves together extraordinary figures, varied elements, and accomplishments of the period.
William Manchester (1922–2004) was an award-winning American author, biographer, historian, and a professor emeritus of history at Wesleyan University. Among his many New York Times bestselling books are Goodbye, Darkness and The Last Lion, a multivolume biography of Winston Churchill.
Barrett Whitener, based in D.C., has read countless audiobooks and voiceovers. His audiobook credits include Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence, Frank W. Abagnale's Catch Me If You Can, Orson Scott Card's Children of the Mind, and John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces. Barrett has also lent his voice to a range of commercials, including those for The American Red Cross, the Boeing Corp, Legend Entertainment Corp, and PBS. AudioFile Magazine has described his voice as "crisp, precise, assured, intelligent [and] attention-grabbing."
Reviews
“Manchester has not forgotten the skills that, with invective, eloquence, and anecdote, make him a master storyteller.”
“An absorbing and readable history.”
“Manchester provides easy access to a fascinating age when our modern mentality was just being born.”
“Lively and engaging, full of exquisite details and anecdotes that transform this period—usually murky—into a comprehensive tableau.”
“A captivating, marvelously vivid popular history that humanizes the tumultuous span from the Dark Ages to the dawn of the Renaissance.”
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