The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople

Bauer's book would be more appropriately titled "A History of the Late Middle Ages" - or, to be more Euro-centric, "The High Middle Ages," the book really ending when the Renaissance began (in 1453). For those seeking a book on the Renaissance proper, look elsewhere, but do give this marvelous history your attention as well. There is much to recommend here (the confusion of the time period not withstanding.) First, this is truly a "world history" - not the typical Euro-centric history with the obligatory nod to civilizations in the Near East and Asia. While much attention is paid to the political goings on in Europe (about 45% of the book), attention and detail is also given to civilizations in Africa (5%), Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia (about 10%), India (10%), China and the Mongols (12%), the Near East and Byzantium (16%) and the Americas (2%). The narrative thread shows the growing interconnectedness between civilizations in terms of economics, culture, religion and politics. Second, the depth and detail Bauer provides in relating a world history is astonishing. Each chapter is between 6 - 8 pages, but they are packed with information about political interrelationships and the aims, goals and hopes of various groups and families from popes to emperors to pretenders to the throne. This makes for a relatively fast-paced read, but it also gives a solid overview of the forces at play. Finally, the writing is superb. Bauer's prose is fluid and geared to a general audience which makes the reading easy and entertaining. Her works cited is extensive and comprehensive with a super-abundance of really outstanding works for those interested in more detail on a given topic, time period or event. In spite of my prickliness regarding the title, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a well-written history with a genuinely global scope.

Was looking for a book specifically on European history during the Medieval ages and rather mistakenly purchased this book, which covered the world during the Medieval period, including Asia (northern and southern), India, Africa (primarily Western Africa) and Meso-America (Mayan and Incan) history. Superbly written and meticulously researched, easily approached, a tome from which I learned a great deal and am thus the better for it. Not as socially/culturally focused as Barbara Tuckman's "A Distant Mirror" (a truly delightful book, even more easily approachable than Professor Bauer's and quite a pleasurable read), but so very informative.

The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople Susan Wise Bauer is an extremely gifted writer who has accomplished what I once thought nearly impossible: weaving centuries of history from widely varied regions of the world into a cohesive, accessible, engaging, and quasi-scholarly narrative that held my attention throughout. The book contains countless maps—more than 80—that are thoughtfully interwoven into the storyline rather than clumped together at the beginning or end, along with illustrations and footnotes that are greatly appreciated. I could honestly read all three books again. They are chock full of fascinating stories and details that I had never encountered before, all presented in such a wonderfully easygoing style of historical storytelling. Ms. Bauer’s writing is so compelling that I ended up purchasing another four to six books related to the history she recounts. She is truly a master at this, and I could not be happier to have read her series. Thank you for the time and effort spent putting this collection together. It was a truly wonderful reading experience. Needless to say, I can highly recommend this book.

If you love history, you'll love this book. Provides a great overview of the major historical developments in an evolutionary time. It covers the major players from kings, popes and emperors to the Mongols, caliphs and rebels. Baur covers a lot of ground with great detail and manages to make it clear and tell a story. Really helps tie all the pieces together across Europe, the Middle East, India, China and the far east, with a liberal dose of Mongol horde as well. The book's progress is easy to follow with timelines and maps that help put each chapter's events into context. The periods many palace intrigues, crusades, overthrows and related butchery are described in a matter-of-fact fashion that lets the reader imagine what was really happening. Overall, a very good read for the history lover.

This, along with the two preceding histories, is the best history I've ever read, and I've read a lot of history: serious histories of England, France, Germany, and Italy, and popular histories of people and events in those countries. These histories beat them all. I also read part of a history of India (too depressing), and a good but short history of China. I HOPE there will be further volumes continuing these histories. I believe that with 1453, history begins to be less gruesome in general. I'm ready for happier endings, as I'd guess the author would be. But gruesome or not, I really was happy to read so much of what I'd never known, and which was always interesting.

This is the third volume of Prof. Wise-Bauer's work that I have read and they just keep getting better. Each volume is written in the same format with chapters varying from a few to just enough pages to give the reader the basis for further reading if they so choose. Like the volumes on ancient and medieval history the author guides the reader through the most important events, sources her narrative, hitting the high points before moving on. The style is just as relaxed, almost conversational, the pages - and years - curling back with ease, the content sitting comfortably in the forefront of the mind awaiting digestion. I sat down on a Sunday morning to begin this read and by early afternoon had already made my way through nearly half the book. This volume is not as large as the previous but the time period is not as broad in scope as before either. As with previous works the Renaissance has something for everyone and will make an attractive addition to one's shelves. Well worth the time invested in having coffee with Susan.

I reread this book and the other two in the trilogy every 5 years because of its all world perspective

Like the other two books in this series, I found this a fasinating review of the age by a very knowledgeable writer. The scope is huge and the approach taken to cover the many aspects of this history is good. With regard to the Kindle version, I have two criticisms: The rendering of the maps and other graphics is poor, and the many footnote indications in the text are not easily accessible - it should be possible to simply click on them to go directly to the footnotes.

Esse e-book correspondeu as minhas expectativas, ele resume o período renascentista e aborda alguns temas como: guerra dos cem anos, peste negra, Joana d'arc e a exploração marítima portuguesa. Eu super recomendo ele porque ele é fácil!

This book is well worth the read. As a high school history teacher, I have found this book to be incredibly useable in my courses. Not only is the book very readable, but provides interesting stories and antidotes that make the characters of this time period come alive. The author provides a large breadth of content addressing not only the history within the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, but also China and India, so that the reader gets a full overall picture of what was happening in the 'world' at this time in history. The use of maps and timelines are a welcome addition to aid the reader in their understanding of the content. Susan Wise Bauer is my go-to-author for this time period. Whether it is her book on the Ancient World or the Medieval World or now the Renaissance World, these books are fantastic reading, not only for those in the teaching profession, but also for someone who has a passion for history, wants to learn about this time period or just wants a really good read.

It's a excellent book that is easy to read. It's recommended you have basic knowledge of the time period or you may find yourself a little lost in the facts.

A good, easy to read overview of world history from 1100 to 1500 with plenty of maps and diagrams. This is a narrative history with little in the way of analysis of the reasons for what happened but given the scope of the book, it would have to be much longer for that. The author looks at different parts of the world at similar times so a chapter on Edward II might be followed by a chapter on the Sultanate of Dehli. I like the authors style-clear concise and easy to read. There's very little about how ordinary people lived here but then that's not what the book is about and if you want further information there are plenty of notes and plenty of sources cited at the back. Money well spent.

Meandering. Slow. Not as good as her first volume.