I asked because I was looking at the list of the best books about the middle ages on Good Reads, and Norman Cantor's books had five or six of the top fifty places. I'm going to assume that's because he's 1) prolific, and 2) widely read, and not necessarily a comment on value.
What do you think of Barbara Tuchman? A Distant Mirror was written in the '70s, and I'm wondering how dated it will seem now. The books by Joseph and Frances Gies were written around then, and I've been skimming them lately -- I read most of them in my teens -- and they are striking me as a little dated. I'm not sure what it is, but it's a bit like reading a math textbook from the '50s. I think it might just be that the "cultural voice" has changed, if you know what I mean.
Now, changing the subject slightly... William Manchester can DIAF, so to speak. Worst. Medieval. "Scholarly". Author. Evah.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-02-22 02:42 am (UTC)I asked because I was looking at the list of the best books about the middle ages on Good Reads, and Norman Cantor's books had five or six of the top fifty places. I'm going to assume that's because he's 1) prolific, and 2) widely read, and not necessarily a comment on value.
What do you think of Barbara Tuchman? A Distant Mirror was written in the '70s, and I'm wondering how dated it will seem now. The books by Joseph and Frances Gies were written around then, and I've been skimming them lately -- I read most of them in my teens -- and they are striking me as a little dated. I'm not sure what it is, but it's a bit like reading a math textbook from the '50s. I think it might just be that the "cultural voice" has changed, if you know what I mean.
Now, changing the subject slightly... William Manchester can DIAF, so to speak. Worst. Medieval. "Scholarly". Author. Evah.
Tell me more! He's in the top 50, too.