From tales of chivalry and valor to the barbarity of the Inquisition and the devastation of the plague, no era has been a greater source of fascination and horror than the Middle Ages. Acclaimed historian William Manchester takes us on a vividly painted journey into the medieval mind. We travel from the depths of the Dark Ages to the heights of the rebirth that spawned some of history's greatest artists and thinkers--and that eventually ushered the...

This remarkable audiobook will challenge your preconceptions of the Dark Ages. Written by internationally-acclaimed historian Thomas Cahill, it paints an accessible and revealing portrait of medieval times. As Europe reaches intellectual stagnation and decline, Ireland bursts forth as a vigorous haven of scholarship in its first century of literacy. How the Irish Saved Civilization will change forever the way we look at our past, and ourselves.

The story of how a team of librarians and archivists joined forces to spirit tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts into hiding when al-Qaeda-linked jihadists surged across Mali in 2012, threatening the existence of these precious documents. Relying on extensive research and firsthand reporting, Charlie English expertly twines a fraught and fascinating account of one of the planet's extraordinary places, and the myths from which it has become inseparable....

From Leonardo da Vinci to John Dee and Comenius, from George Eliot to Oliver Sacks and Susan Sontag, polymaths have moved the frontiers of knowledge in countless ways. But history can be unkind to scholars with such encyclopaedic interests. All too often these individuals are remembered for just one part of their valuable achievements. In this account, renowned cultural historian Peter Burke argues for a more rounded view. Identifying 500 western...

The invention of writing was one of the most important technological, cultural, and sociological breakthroughs in human history. With the printed book, information and ideas could disseminate more widely and effectively than ever before-and in some cases, affect and redirect the sway of history. Today, nearly one million books are published each year. But is the era of the book as we know it-a codex of bound pages-coming to an end? And if it is, should...