A.D. 1000: A World on the Brink of Apocalypse [Paperback]

Richard Erdoes (Author), Karen Armstrong (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

It is the one-thousandth year of christianity. The end of the millennium is fast approaching, and with it the nightmare visions of Armageddon and Apocalypse. Tracing the career of Pope Sylvester II, a visionary so brilliant many believed he had made a secret pact with Satan, author Richard Erdoes creates a vivid tapestry filled with powerful vignettes and revealing character sketches. As rich as any fantasy, this chilling historical account holds up a dark mirror to our own society, here at the eve of the second millennium.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Ulysses Press (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569751579
• ISBN-13: 978-1569751572
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,560,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but readers should beware., August 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A.D. 1000: A World on the Brink of Apocalypse (Paperback)

"A.D. 1000" reads like a work of narrative fiction, and it proves quite interesting. The fundamental structure of the book follows the chronology of Gerbert's fascinating rise to the Papacy. Because of Gerbert's unusual opportunities for travel, educational development, and influence in the most powerful courts of Europe, the book provides opportunities to discuss living conditions in the time. But caveat emptor: the author is not sufficiently critical of his sources. Some descriptions are presented as fact even though other seasoned historians have discredited similar claims.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and interesting but badly edited., July 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A.D. 1000: A World on the Brink of Apocalypse (Paperback)

A vivid and entertaining look at the life and times of the people living in Europe at the end of the first millenium. The book reads like a serious version of Monty Python's "The Holy Grail". Lots of historical factoids, gritty and sometimes disturbing descriptions of tenth century lifestyles, and complicated narratives of religious and political intrigue.The only negative I found is that the book, or at least the edition I read, is poorly edited. There are frequent typos, and sometimes the paragraphs and chapters seem a bit confusing, somewhat unfocused and slightly disorganized. These editing problems become a bit distracting at times. However, on the whole the subject matter is fascinating, and the author's approach (focusing on the life of Pope Sylvester II and using him as a centerpiece for discussing tenth century life) is effective.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining!, July 6, 1999

By 

John B. Ferguson <[e-mail]> (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A.D. 1000: A World on the Brink of Apocalypse (Paperback)

I am not a professional historian, so I cannot comment on the veracity of Mr. Erdoes's description of Europe at the last millennium, but if one-tenth of what he says is true, it was a pretty horrifying place. The book is in a sense a biography of Gerbert of Aurillac, who was to become Pope Sylvester II, the pope who presided over midnight mass in St. Peter's at Rome on December 31, 999. Gerbert's life is used as a centerpiece in a banquet of vignettes of European life at the time, including studies of the Holy Roman Empire, the papacy, the Byzantine Empire, the Moors in Spain, feudal France and Germany, the Slavs in Russia, the Vikings in Scandinavia, and the Magyars in Hungary. Very, very few people seem to have been well behaved, but perhaps Gerbert was. What becomes painfully obvious is that living conditions have improved dramatically in Europe in the last thousand years, but human nature has remained pretty much the same. An extensive bibliography and a decent index, but no notes to indicate specific sources, accompany this very entertaining history. Highly recommended!