Genealogical and historical perspectives on Medieval history
This book is a racier, sexier rebirth of “God’s War” by Christopher Tyerman! “The World of the Crusades” by the same author repackages a masterpiece in the only way it can be improved upon: load it with images, charts, graphs, and beautiful artwork. This resplendent new offering by historian Christopher […]
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“God’s War” by Christopher Tyerman knocks all other Crusade books off of the shelf! It’s 922 pages of amazing page-turns; I mean when’s the last time you read a 900 page book without some sort of latent fear of actually trying to finish it? Tyerman’s “God’s War” is both macroscopic
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“The Debatable Land” by Graham Robb brings the historical drama! The author, almost by chance, uncovered one of Britain’s most enduring, and ironically, forgotten mysteries. The question is: should he have left it alone? I can’t say enough about this book in terms of its contribution to understanding the British
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I learned a lot about what I thought I had known about Christopher Columbus; my assumptions challenged, my misconceptions revealed. Laurence Bergreen’s “Christopher Columbus: The Four Voyages” is a literary unmasking of one of history’s most renown subjects, and ironically, one of its least understood. Much enmity and praise has
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Learning about the history of Ukraine has truly inspired me, there are so many real lessons that I have taken away not only as an American but also as a Lithuanian as our histories are indelibly intertwined. I wanted to share a few perspectives about how the history of Ukraine
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Reading “The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine” by Serhii Plokhy has had a profound impact on me. Never before did I understand the history of this region which is at the same time both volatile and beautiful; situated at the eastern gateway to Europe its ancient past harks
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Over the years the #booknerd in me has scored! I’ve come across a few valuable multi-volume book sets that I bought for dirt cheap at book sales, garage sales, and even libraries. In addition to being an avid reader I also have been collecting books for over 30 years now
5 Valuable Multi-Volume Book Sets I Bought Dirt Cheap Read More »
King Mindaugas of Lithuania lived for 60 years and reigned for a combined 27 years of his monumental life. He was the first King of Lithuania and its very first Head Of State, a legacy which has continued all the way until the present day; he united tribes, repelled the
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“The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance” by Paul Strathern is a sojourn into the elusively secret world of medieval money and politics like I’ve never quite experienced. It was eye-opening on many levels for me. As a historian and an armchair economist I’ve always preferred the
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Her name is Joyeuse meaning ‘joyous’ and she is the magnificent sword of Charlemagne that accompanied him on his rise to power from Frankish King in 768 to Holy Roman Emperor in 800 to the posthumously acknowledged ‘father of all Europe’ after his death in 814. Joyeuse has a 32.6 inch
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Is Christopher Columbus Polish? Or is this just polish-ed rhetoric? Apparently Christopher Columbus has a new identity: he’s Polish according to author Manuel Rosa in his newly-released book “Columbus: The Untold Story.” I have just 2 problems with Rosa’s conclusions: (1) there is no basis in actual fact; and (2)
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Being interested in both Lithuania and the Medici family from different perspectives, I never thought the two would be connected! I always knew that the Medici banking influence ran from Italy to London to Bruges; however, I had no idea that the Medici family itself was also connected to medieval
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The story of the Lithuanian Nation is one of the best kept historical secrets! As the centennial of Lithuanian Independence was commemorated on February 16, 2018, let’s look at the story of this nation and its illustrious history from pagans to kings, for in it are lessons for us all.
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Think medieval history is confusing? There is only 1 author you need to know if you want to get into books on medieval history and you might be surprised to know that they are actually 2 people, the husband and wife team of Frances and Joseph Gies, aka “Gies &
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“The King Arthur Trilogy” by Rosemary Sutcliff will be the BEST King Arthur Book you will ever read. I myself have read a few King Arthur books including: “Sword at Sunset” also by Rosemary Sutcliff; “Le Morte d’ Arthur” by Sir Thomas Mallory; and even “The History of the Kings
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