Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages
- Downloads：4097
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-11-19 17:21:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Dan Jones
- ISBN：1984880896
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Dan Jones's epic new history tells the story of how the world we know today came to be built。 It is a thousand-year adventure that moves from Rome， sacked by barbarians in AD 410， to the first contacts between the old and new worlds in the sixteenth century。 It shows how， from a state of crisis and collapse， the West was rebuilt and came to dominate the entire globe。 The book identifies three key themes that underpinned the success of the West: commerce， conquest and Christianity。
Across 16 chapters， blending Dan Jones' narrative shows how， at each stage in this story， successive western powers thrived by attracting – or stealing – the most valuable resources， ideas and people from the rest of the world。 It casts new light on iconic locations – Rome， Paris， Venice， Constantinople – and it features some of history's most famous and notorious men and women。
Across 16 chapters， blending Dan Jones' narrative shows how， at each stage in this story， successive western powers thrived by attracting – or stealing – the most valuable resources， ideas and people from the rest of the world。 It casts new light on iconic locations – Rome， Paris， Venice， Constantinople – and it features some of history's most famous and notorious men and women。
Reviews
Hillary
，
This is a wonderful book to read 。 I learned so much from this book 。 I love reading good history books that give good information。 Dan Jones is a great writer and a great historian who is great teacher of history。 If you love learning about history you should give this book a try。
Charles M
，
An astonishing survey of the Middle Ages ， essentially Europe centric but he does cover the Arab and Mongol conquests 。 He discusses broad themes that are illustrated by well chosen and detailed discussions of individuals whose lives illustrate the point。 The approximately thousand years covered from the Roman empire’s fall in the west to the early 16 th century is presented in a well organized captivating manner
Meg
，
This is a very readable survey of medieval European history， supplemented by quite a bit of info on both the ancient Roman/Byzantine and Muslim history and the Renaissance/Reformation/Exploration eras that bookend and define the Middle Ages。
Erik Zilliacus
，
I got what I wanted from this book: an overview of the most important events and developments during the medieval period。 It was a recap of many things I had learned about before included in common basic high school history etc and connecting dots/getting background about famous events/characters but there were also quite a few of new things to me。It was also quite a good reading experience。 I had expected a dry book which would require some effort to get through， but actually I found it hard to I got what I wanted from this book: an overview of the most important events and developments during the medieval period。 It was a recap of many things I had learned about before included in common basic high school history etc and connecting dots/getting background about famous events/characters but there were also quite a few of new things to me。It was also quite a good reading experience。 I had expected a dry book which would require some effort to get through， but actually I found it hard to put down sometimes。I was astonished and shocked about the sheer brutality that have occured during this part of the history。 。。。more
Ian Peterson
，
Great digestible overview of the Middle Ages
aubree
，
Absolutely smitten with this— listened to the audiobook （which is narrated by the author） and it made the book so much more fun。 Every chapter had my full attention and interest。
Helen
，
In Powers and Thrones， Dan Jones explores the long period of history known as the Middle Ages。 Starting in 410 AD， just before the fall of the Roman Empire， and ending in 1527 during the Renaissance， he looks at some of the ‘powers’ that helped to build the world we know today – not just ‘thrones’， but also powers such as money， trade， religion and exploration。 He moves forward chronologically throughout the book while choosing a different topic to focus on in each chapter; Monks， Knights， Schol In Powers and Thrones， Dan Jones explores the long period of history known as the Middle Ages。 Starting in 410 AD， just before the fall of the Roman Empire， and ending in 1527 during the Renaissance， he looks at some of the ‘powers’ that helped to build the world we know today – not just ‘thrones’， but also powers such as money， trade， religion and exploration。 He moves forward chronologically throughout the book while choosing a different topic to focus on in each chapter; Monks， Knights， Scholars， Crusaders， Merchants and Builders are just a few of the chapter titles。As well as putting key events into the context of their own time， Jones also draws lots of parallels with modern life。 It’s impossible to read about the first recorded global pandemic – a form of bubonic plague thought to have killed millions of people worldwide during the middle of the 6th century – without thinking of the similarities and differences with our own recent Covid-19 pandemic。 Again， when he discusses the later outbreak of plague in the 14th century known as the Black Death， he looks at the economic impact on prices and wages， something as relevant now as it was then。 It was also interesting to read about the effects of climate change and extreme weather such as droughts on the mass migration of people in the 4th and 5th centuries that led to ‘barbarian’ tribes pushing across the Roman frontiers and contributing to the fall of Rome。Although the book concentrates on broad themes like these， Jones does pick out individual historical figures to write about in more detail。 These range from ancient leaders such as Attila the Hun and Theodoric， king of the Ostrogoths to Henry the Navigator， Marco Polo， and Dick Whittington – a real-life merchant and politician before he became a British pantomime character！ The book is quite Eurocentric， but Jones doesn’t ignore things that were taking place in other parts of the world， particularly where they affect European life and culture。 For example， he includes sections on Genghis Khan and the Mongols and on the caliphates of the Arab world。The problem with Powers and Thrones is that there’s just too much information here for one book。 Any of the chapters could have been expanded into an entire book in itself; trying to condense it all into one volume was a bit overwhelming。 I’m still glad I read it， though， and am pleased I made it all the way through to the end – I finished it with a real sense of achievement！ 。。。more
Richard Fowler
，
Great book。 Sweeping oversight of the middle ages which filled in gaps in knowledge and gave further insight into things I'd vaguely heard of。 Highly recommended for that purpose， although inevitably you'll have to look elsewhere for more depth on specifics。 Great book。 Sweeping oversight of the middle ages which filled in gaps in knowledge and gave further insight into things I'd vaguely heard of。 Highly recommended for that purpose， although inevitably you'll have to look elsewhere for more depth on specifics。 。。。more
Stephen Hughes
，
Energetic popular history narrative covering a 1000 years of European history that goes beyond platitudes and regurgitating myths to provide a great introduction to the subject。 It supersedes all previous one volume general histories of the period。
Bob
，
Jones remains the most readable pop historian in the game。 Conversational， informative， and sweeping。
Matas Maldeikis
，
Geriausia knyga jeigu norite suprasti ir pamilti viduramžius。 Must read kategorija。
Celia Yang
，
衝着作者Dan Jones 而看的雖然整體都還是不錯的但個人認為並沒有超過他空王冠和金雀花王朝的兩本書可能跟翻譯都有點關係吧作者用幾百頁的書講述了一整中世紀並沒有如我預期中認識到一個時序性的中世紀反而是對中世紀的大事，人文風情，建築藝術等有更好的認識算是一個非常特別的手法吧
Books， Brews， and Tunes
，
Really good book for a broad view of key events during the Middle Ages。 Makes you want to get more specific books for certain events/time periods mentioned within the book。
Bob
，
Just a thrilling read， full of amazing stories。 And "amazing" doesn't adequately convey the wonder， astonishment， horror， etc。， that this narrative encompasses。 Even if you don't normally read history books， this one might just take you for the ride of your life。 Just a thrilling read， full of amazing stories。 And "amazing" doesn't adequately convey the wonder， astonishment， horror， etc。， that this narrative encompasses。 Even if you don't normally read history books， this one might just take you for the ride of your life。 。。。more
Rachel
，
Wow！ That was a mouthful！ A lot of information。 Love the research and notes。
Coleman Ross
，
Good stuff！ Like the overview vs。 dives into the details。
Mike Shoop
，
A readable， entertaining， compelling， epic survey of the roughly 1，000 years of the Middle Ages， excellently written by an author whose other histories I have enjoyed。 He places events firmly in context with the times， writing of the Peasants' Revolt， the Black Death， the fall of Constantinople， the Crusades， the tremendous spread of the Mongol Empire， the rise of the Papacy， the beginnings of Protestantism， etc。， in an orderly， well organized fashion。 He creates parallels between then and the p A readable， entertaining， compelling， epic survey of the roughly 1，000 years of the Middle Ages， excellently written by an author whose other histories I have enjoyed。 He places events firmly in context with the times， writing of the Peasants' Revolt， the Black Death， the fall of Constantinople， the Crusades， the tremendous spread of the Mongol Empire， the rise of the Papacy， the beginnings of Protestantism， etc。， in an orderly， well organized fashion。 He creates parallels between then and the present in terms of mass migrations of displaced people， climate change， terrible pandemics， brutal violence， social issues like education， health and hunger and poverty， etc。 Jones writes with insight， humor， understanding， examining with a fresh eye a multitude of sources for developing his narrative， and he examines not just western Europe， but includes all of Asia， the Middle East， and the Americas。 He writes of major personages like Genghis Khan， Tamerlane， Charlemagne， Eleanor of Aquitaine， Saladin， Da Vinci， Jan van Eyck， Frederick Barbarossa， and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V， among many others。 I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in having a better understanding of the period known as the Middle Ages。 Massive， long， and dense with illuminating facts and information， I wanted to read every word and absorb it all。 Totally worth the time spent reading it。 。。。more
John
，
I read a lot of history but I hadn't read Jones before， so I thought I'd give him a try， especially since I hadn't read much about the Middle Ages。 I found it a bit of a slug。 He certainly covered a lot of ground， and I appreciated that。 But I found the way he set up the book， trying to do tell a straightforward chronological history via successive chapters about very different players to be a gamble that failed。 Some worked for me ， e。g。 Romans， Arabs， Mongols， Navigators， Protestants。 Some did I read a lot of history but I hadn't read Jones before， so I thought I'd give him a try， especially since I hadn't read much about the Middle Ages。 I found it a bit of a slug。 He certainly covered a lot of ground， and I appreciated that。 But I found the way he set up the book， trying to do tell a straightforward chronological history via successive chapters about very different players to be a gamble that failed。 Some worked for me ， e。g。 Romans， Arabs， Mongols， Navigators， Protestants。 Some did not， e。g。， Franks， Monk， Knights， Crusaders。 Jones also seemed more than once to stretch a little to far for me to make a startling point。 For example， he suggested that the motivation behind the exploration of the new World by the West resulted from the Ottomans' conquest of Constantinople and the resulting cutting off of trade routes to the East。 A tantalizing point that I had not heard before。 But then several pages later he mentioned an agreement between the King of France and the Ottomans that allowed just that trade。 All in all， the book was full of fun facts， but I'm not sure it held together。 。。。more
KevinS
，
Best history book ever。 When I finished this I immediately started over again to read the first part more attentively。 Starting with the decline of the Roman Empire and running through the invention of the printing press and discoveries of the new world， this book explains the how and why of the middle ages， answering questions I didn't know to ask。 I really enjoyed descriptions of how the crusades were financed， how the early days of the Christian faith impacted politics in Rome， how the Veneti Best history book ever。 When I finished this I immediately started over again to read the first part more attentively。 Starting with the decline of the Roman Empire and running through the invention of the printing press and discoveries of the new world， this book explains the how and why of the middle ages， answering questions I didn't know to ask。 I really enjoyed descriptions of how the crusades were financed， how the early days of the Christian faith impacted politics in Rome， how the Venetians became a world power， how Ghengis Khan rose to power and so much more。 If you have any interest in how our world came to be and why Europe looks and behaves the way it does， read this book。 。。。more
Casper Van Waesberghe
，
Drie dagen te laat dan toch nog een review！Ik ga dit boek altijd koppelen aan Mayer van den Bergh， aan de vele leessessies op de salonbank van zaal 8 met de zon die door het raam scheen op het blad :））。De inhoud dan。 De Middeleeuwen hebben hun charme nog altijd niet verloren voor mij。 Meer nog， zeker de Vroege Middeleeuwen wekken meer dan ooit mijn interesse。 Ze intrigeren me， en ik zou liefst van al in de Slegte 10 nieuwe boeken gaan kopen over Vandalen， Volksverhuizingen， Karel de Grote en The Drie dagen te laat dan toch nog een review！Ik ga dit boek altijd koppelen aan Mayer van den Bergh， aan de vele leessessies op de salonbank van zaal 8 met de zon die door het raam scheen op het blad :））。De inhoud dan。 De Middeleeuwen hebben hun charme nog altijd niet verloren voor mij。 Meer nog， zeker de Vroege Middeleeuwen wekken meer dan ooit mijn interesse。 Ze intrigeren me， en ik zou liefst van al in de Slegte 10 nieuwe boeken gaan kopen over Vandalen， Volksverhuizingen， Karel de Grote en Theodorik。 Maar dan zou ik mijn veel te lange to-read stapel negeren， dus misschien beter niet。 Dan Jones vermijdt gelukkig grotendeels de valkuilen van de populariserende geschiedenis， al ligt de focus naar mijn gevoel toch iets te veel op Engeland （toch enkele case-studies verraden deze voorkeur）。 Een puntje van kritiek ligt bij de vertaling naar het Nederlands， want die is soms echt laks uitgevoerd。 Om de zoveel tijd moet je eens een boek lezen om te herbevestigen waar je interesses nu juist liggen。 Dit is daar wel goed voor :）。 Op naar nieuwe dingen！ 。。。more
Max Pushkin
，
I spent a lot of time thinking about whether I truly enjoyed this book。 I’ve absolutely loved Jones’ previous books， particularly the Templars and Plantagenets， but Power and Thrones pages in comparison。 I appreciate what Jones tried to do with this book， present a basic and comprehensive view of the Middle Ages， but it felt rushed and grasping at times。 The lack of focus on a specific time period or area/individual made Jones focus on generalities which， while interesting， were not as compellin I spent a lot of time thinking about whether I truly enjoyed this book。 I’ve absolutely loved Jones’ previous books， particularly the Templars and Plantagenets， but Power and Thrones pages in comparison。 I appreciate what Jones tried to do with this book， present a basic and comprehensive view of the Middle Ages， but it felt rushed and grasping at times。 The lack of focus on a specific time period or area/individual made Jones focus on generalities which， while interesting， were not as compelling as his previous work。 I just think he tried to do too much。 I really enjoyed many of his examples and I’m excited to dive into the bibliography， but I think Jones is better when operating in a specific context。 。。。more
Elliott Petty
，
So much information （1000 years of history） but reasonably digestible。 From a quality standpoint I give it 5 stars。 Did I enjoy it？ Some parts were 3 star enjoyable， others 4， and some 5。 It was nice to read a book that synthesized a lot of subjects I know exist but that I really did not know a lot about: Rome， barbarians， crusades， history of the Catholic church， the Mongols， and so forth。 It was a lot， but it was well done。
Eric
，
Dan Jones bookends his vast and impressive 1，100-year medieval history of the West with a pair of sackings of Rome， in AD410 and 1527。 In between there’s a lot more than knights and monks （though they’re well represented） - “a changing global climate， pandemic diseases， technological progress， a revolution in communication and publishing， rapid and uncontrollable mass migration， and a reformation in cultural values centered on the celebration of the individual。” Sound familiar？From Aachen to Meh Dan Jones bookends his vast and impressive 1，100-year medieval history of the West with a pair of sackings of Rome， in AD410 and 1527。 In between there’s a lot more than knights and monks （though they’re well represented） - “a changing global climate， pandemic diseases， technological progress， a revolution in communication and publishing， rapid and uncontrollable mass migration， and a reformation in cultural values centered on the celebration of the individual。” Sound familiar？From Aachen to Mehmed II to Ulrich Zwingli， every other page uncovers a new rabbit hole for the exploring， with hundreds of primary sources， secondary sources， and journal articles and theses。 。。。more
Cátia Lopes
，
Uma leitura que se torna um must-read para todos os amantes de História。Com uma escrita acessível até ao leitor mais reticente a livros históricos e não-ficção， Dan Jones vai nos relatando as histórias que marcaram a Idade Média。 Desde o magnânimo Império Romano， passando pelos bizantinos， árabes， francos， viquingues， cavaleiros e cruzados。 Desde personalidades famosas como Átila， o Huno， Justiniano， Carlos Magno， Ragnar e Rollo， Leonor de Aquitânia， Ricardo Coração de Leão e muitos outros。Uma l Uma leitura que se torna um must-read para todos os amantes de História。Com uma escrita acessível até ao leitor mais reticente a livros históricos e não-ficção， Dan Jones vai nos relatando as histórias que marcaram a Idade Média。 Desde o magnânimo Império Romano， passando pelos bizantinos， árabes， francos， viquingues， cavaleiros e cruzados。 Desde personalidades famosas como Átila， o Huno， Justiniano， Carlos Magno， Ragnar e Rollo， Leonor de Aquitânia， Ricardo Coração de Leão e muitos outros。Uma leitura que complementou várias informações que já tinha。 Pequenos fragmentos históricos presentes em romances e dramas históricos ou mesmo em séries e filmes。 Foi muito interessante neste primeiro volume poder aprofundar o conhecimento sobre uma das eras mais interessantes e dignas de estudo do mundo。 。。。more
Max Turgeon
，
Necessarily superficial at times， it is still truly engaging。 Each chapter centers around a group of people （e。g。 Romans， Knights， Discoverers） who influenced the social and economic fabric of the medieval West （or East in some cases）。
William Bennett
，
I love the medieval period and I love Dan Jones as an historian and presenter， and I found this wide-ranging but detailed survey of the Middle Ages to be both entertaining and informative。 Jones is a consummate historian in his ability to relate the past to the present， and the plagues and political unrest of the period feel even more immediately relevant given the last nearly three years of COVID and worldwide upheaval。However， I do think Jones’s scope was somewhat exceeded by the limits of thi I love the medieval period and I love Dan Jones as an historian and presenter， and I found this wide-ranging but detailed survey of the Middle Ages to be both entertaining and informative。 Jones is a consummate historian in his ability to relate the past to the present， and the plagues and political unrest of the period feel even more immediately relevant given the last nearly three years of COVID and worldwide upheaval。However， I do think Jones’s scope was somewhat exceeded by the limits of this volume。 At times the detail overwhelms the broad sweep and connective tissue that Jones takes pains to emphasize。 I really liked the thematic groupings Jones created to organize his book， but at times they limited his ability to show connections and lead readers to making their own observations and drawing their own conclusions。 Some combination of stricter chronology and theme or development might have been helpful to me。A very enjoyable and persuasive book that illustrates both how far from and how near to the medieval period we truly are。 。。。more
Gary Randolph
，
Excellent survey of the middle ages from the fall of Rome to the Reformation。 In 580 pages， Dan Jones obviously leaves out many important people。 But those he includes well represent their ages， and Jones covers them with depth and insight。
William
，
I've been a fairly loyal fan of Dan Jones's histories and purchased this one as it immediately released in the States。 Although this is a "New" history of the Middle Ages （I tend to shudder whenever there is a "New History" which is tantamount to revisionism in order to realign the subject with more up-to-date political norms）， I trusted in Dan's previous works which served well in bringing moments in the Middle Ages to life。 Jones， however， seemed to have let success and fame alter his career a I've been a fairly loyal fan of Dan Jones's histories and purchased this one as it immediately released in the States。 Although this is a "New" history of the Middle Ages （I tend to shudder whenever there is a "New History" which is tantamount to revisionism in order to realign the subject with more up-to-date political norms）， I trusted in Dan's previous works which served well in bringing moments in the Middle Ages to life。 Jones， however， seemed to have let success and fame alter his career as a historian， and instead he decided it was his due diligence to voice his political opinions to the world。 In a singular volume on the general span of the Middle Ages - something so imposing， that page-count and space must really be at the forefront of the editor's mind - things that I absolutely don't want to read about in footnotes （which are found all throughout） are: the Far-Right， Neo-Nazis， skinheads， Donald Trump， MAGA rallies， football hooligans， etc。It was possible at first to skip past the first couple of mentions of these items， I figured it was just something Dan had internalized for far too long and just needed to get out。 But with each time that the immersion was broken， I had to ask， "who is this for？" Is Mr。 Jones "doing his part" to "save society" by interjecting his modern political opinions in a book on the Middle Ages， when death by dysentery was commonplace， like a good "enlightened" lad？I'm aware that his work as an author， in general， has taken on a more social/political turn， but I do hope that this won't be the last history of his that I finish。 I did so enjoy his previous works。 。。。more
Mike
，
An outstanding look at Europe in the Middle Ages。 Highly recommended for anyone who is looking for a basic understanding of that period of history。
Ron
，