Rating: 
Summary: A great read that did indeed make me want to learn more
Review: I bought "A World Lit Only By Fire" because I thought it was going to be on military history (and I had grown interested in the medieval era). While I found very little military history, I couldn't help but continue reading from start to finish.
William Manchester works his book much like any good comedian works his routine - he manages to tell us the story of the medieval age from the death of the Roman Empire to the rise of education in Europe and eventually the move out into the world. It is amazing how no real chapter ever has a single topic, and yet I am still able to read through with continued interest. It's hard to imagine how jumping from Magellan to Robin Hood to Medieval sex to Martin Luther might not make one dizzy, but believe it or not Manchester manages to pass it off.
There are, however, two real stories one can find here: 1) the fall of the papal power over Europe, leading to a rise in education for the common man (as a result of the printing press), and 2) the discovery of the new world and proof that Europe is not the center of the universe and the world is indeed round. The story of Luther's rise to power (and how it corrupts him) was fascinating, and while I almost lost interest when the Magellan story reappeared I quickly regained interest as the venture to go around the world picked up pace. I even remember exclaiming "No!" as I read about Serrano, Magellan's most faithful and able captain, getting killed by natives.
I am amazed, with all the bad books and movies getting four or five stars on this website, that people have become so critical of this book. Why? Because it portrays Medieval Europe as a backward, rather disgusting place? I suppose every one knows that Medieval man bathed himself regularly and the Catholic Church of the time was one of the most forgiving and kind churches around. That's why the plague spread so easily and the Inquisition killed thousands. Then again, maybe the plague and Inquisition never happened - is this the "propoganda" some reviewers refer to?
I am surprised these intellectual people do not praise Manchester for doing away with some propoganda like the popular idea that Machiavelli was an immoral supporter of despots when he was in actuality a devout man who actually suggested a republic government with citizen soldiers. I was also surprised to learn that Magellan was actually hated by Europe after the journey until one of his collegues published a record of experiences with him. Perhaps "propoganda" is really another way of saying "the horrible truth."
I would encourage people to read this as a diversion from the typical fare of history books. If you don't look at it so critically, you will find a good (and yes, entertaining) read. Manchester talks to like a good storyteller, and he has hooked me into the era. In fact, he encouraged me to go out and buy the works of Machiavelli and Erasmus, among other men of the times.
Rating:
Summary: Have I offended someone?
Review: As my summer vacation aproached, i was looking forward to a whole month of doing absolutely nothing. However,I was shocked to find that my future 10th grade AP history teacher gave us AWLOBF to read, write a 5 page essay on it and draw a map (I thought we had stoped with the drawings in 4th grade). Yes, all my fellow high schoolers can imagine the pain... anyways, I read the damn book, and it turned out to be fun. yeah, better than Comedy Central, as far as humor goes, and better than playboy as far as... hum...porn goes. As for historical accuracy, I can't really say much but, all of you people who know everything about the Renaissance and the Middle Ages, STOP BITCHING AND ENJOY! since you know soooo much more, why don't you write a book? stupid fools!! don't criticize if you can't do better!....well, sorry i got a bit caried away. Anyway, somebody wrotre a review syaing that their 15 year old friend had trouble reading the book, but that she was really smart. I think that's the biggest oxymoron I've ever heard! (apart from "military inteligence"). If she had trouble with this, how the heck did she make it to high school? She must have thought "Romeo and Juliet" was about the cuban cigars...
peace out people! and remember:
All that you touch
And all that you see
It's all your life will ever be........
Rating: 
Summary: Probably the Best Historical text I have ever read!
Review: This is quite a work of art. Bringing a fascinating and fundemental period in Western Civilization to "light". Many people are fascinated by History and its causes, yet those same eager minds are clueless to the motivations and events that shaped our World during the 1000 years, after the fall of Rome to the why the Renaissance even happened. This book answers questions I never really knew...Protestantism, Inquisition, Bad Popes, Humanism, Visogoth, Henry VIII, Erasmus, Huns...its all here. The desire for knowlege on the subject is there, the problem is the dirth of vibrant materials and that exist seem to be an esoteric and mundane examination of specific events or Characters...the type of writing that is better left to the researcher or the student who is forced to read. Manchester is an awesome storyteller who combines a tremendous knowledge of his subject with a wit and insight that makes for a fantastic read. It is very hard if not impossible to put this book down. To know that the facts are right on, the characters were very real, and the events are the foundation of who and what we are as nations, families, congregations and people is just the biggest buzz you can get from reading. It opens your mind up and creates a desire to know more and a sense of satisfaction that you now have a grasp of knowlege that before you read this was just a cloudy picture. I have urged everyone I know to read this book, it is like having a brillant friend telling you a tale by the campfire. Just a WOW read. The negative reviews in here have been emotionally motivated. The facts in this book are well researched. The critics I have read here are mostly abolisionistic, book burners, and religious zealots who do not like anything that does not support there causes without question. Luther was not "God Like", John Calvin was an egomanical Theofacist, The Popes were not "All Saintly" and Christian motivation for slaughter and torture of there fellow man in the name of Jesus was not a fiction made up by the devil to discredit God. Allow yourself to enjoy and learn.
Rating: 
Summary: Bleah
Review: I picked this book up at an airport bookstore, hoping for something interesting and informative to read on my trip to Italy. What I found instead was a historian's version of the National Enquirer - lurid, overly sensational, and thin. I'm just as fond of a good Pope orgy story as the next person, but I object to shoddy research in pursuit of one. My knowledge of the timeperiod covered is slightly better than that of the average person, but I'm no expert, which means that when I start finding factual errors in a history text, something went very wrong.
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