Customer Reviews

Daily Life in the Middle Ages

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Newman's book is divided into seven sections -- Eating and Cooking, Building and Housing, Clothing and Dressing, Cleaning, Relaxing and Playing, Fighting, and Healing. Each chapter is further broken down into convenient and well-organized sub-sections that combine to paint a thoroughly detailed portrait of life at all levels of society throughout Europe. Newman points out how each of his seven areas differed from country to country and in different centuries. The writing style is simple, yet vivid and entirely engaging, bringing the middle ages to life in an easy-to-understand yet detailed way. For example, in the chapter on building and housing Newman discusses what materials were used (and where and why), how they were worked, and what tools were used for each; types of buildings and construction techniques; use of lighting, furniture, decorative elements, etc. The section on food includes what food and drinks people consumed, how food was grown, gathered, stored and served, and differences in class and geographical areas. Almost two pages are devoted to grains alone. Newman explains each element clearly, using photos to illustrate many of the concepts. He dispels common myths about the period and writes convincingly that life was much more advanced and varied than is commonly believed. This is not an academic book (no footnotes or specific source material, although there is a rich bibliography for each chapter generally), but rather a book for the casual researcher, writer or lay person who really wants to understand the middle ages. It is extremely well-written (if poorly proofed), and the only real criticism I can make of the book is the quality of the binding, which makes it hard to read the left-hand pages in the early chapters.

I have been heavily researching the middle ages for a book I am writing and have read numerous books on the subject. This one is by far the most informative and enjoyable.

This author has accomplished quite a feat by taking what could be extraordinarily dry material and masterfully crafting a very interesting book. Rarely do you find a scholarly work of this caliber that you can read simply for pleasure. Mr. Newman debunks all of the supposed truisms about the Middle Ages to put the era in its proper perspective in history. This is a marvelous, considered, detailed accounting of what life was really like in those times, and it was not nearly so dreary as you have been told. This thought-provoking book is a must-read. You won't want to put it down.

"Daily Life in the Middle Ages" provides and excellent look at life, food, cleanliness, warfare and other aspects of the period. It is at the same time very accessible to the lay-reader such as me. After reading about the development of armor, the reader will look at "Braveheart" a little differently. The style is informative, but neither dusty nor without humor. Higly recommend.

I agree completely with the praise other reviewers have heaped upon this book. I have a large number of books on the Middle Ages and this is one of the best, if not the best. There is detailed information on a large number of topics, which are easily located, and well written. This book is a winner.

Newman really gets down to the "nuts and bolts" of medieval life. For most topics, he is extensively detailed. (For a few topics, he touches them so lightly I don't know why he even mentioned them.) His sections on food, clothing and construction techniques are the best I have seen so far in any book on the subject. Overall, if you want to know the "how and what" of medieval life this is a great reference book. I only gave it four stars because while Newman had great information, he was skimpy on how he knows it other than a few pieces of artwork and some very rough sketches. More artwork examples, better diagrams, and some actual photographs would have helped.

Like other reviewers have stated, while the beginning premise of this book sounds like a dry read, it is anything but. It's very informative, entertaining and gives the reader the idea that alot of our ideas about the Middle Ages, could prove to be quite wrong. Alot of books seem to point to the idea that everyone in this time period was unsanitary, filthy, ignorant and ruled by superstition. Alot of books on history, tend to focus on dates, laws, wars, and major events. This books is much different. It takes historical records about more obscure things, such as recipes, washing, clothing, medicine and entertainment and what emerges is a fascinating read about ordinary people and how they must have lived. Be prepared to learn new ideas about the people of the Middle Ages and close the book with a new understanding about this captivating time period. Excellent read for anyone with an interest in history.

I am history teacher and I think that this book will be a great help for me in my classroom. Just one thing is missing: description of bubonic plague that has killed one quarter of European population in the 14th century. But it is the great book anyway.

author repeats ad nauseaum pet theory that Dark Age were not so dark...duh...making the reader fish through turgid prose for the admitedly tasty morsels of info. Not worth premium Kindle price. None in publisher stable so far worth the arrogant pricetag.

The start of the book for me was a good read. Once I got towards the middle I got a little bored.