Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-20 09:51:53
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Dan Jones
- ISBN：1789543541
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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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
Andrew Bearden
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Is it a complete account of the Middle Ages？ No。 Does it illuminate any subjects about which I already know a great deal？ No。 What it does do is provide a "greatest hits" of the Middle Ages from the Fall of Rome in the 5th century to the Sack of Rome in the 1500s。 And， it provides context to many of the accomplishments and major events that occurred during the Middle Ages。 I appreciated how the chapters were divided by subject yet gave a more or less chronological presentation。 The writing style Is it a complete account of the Middle Ages？ No。 Does it illuminate any subjects about which I already know a great deal？ No。 What it does do is provide a "greatest hits" of the Middle Ages from the Fall of Rome in the 5th century to the Sack of Rome in the 1500s。 And， it provides context to many of the accomplishments and major events that occurred during the Middle Ages。 I appreciated how the chapters were divided by subject yet gave a more or less chronological presentation。 The writing style is not quite academic but not quite pandering to the casually interested。 So， just right for a survey of the Middle Ages to a non-history student。 Jones also relates issues like climate change and pandemic to the current times without making a blatant political stance。 As this is the first of his books I have read， I will be curious to delve into more specific subjects such as the Templars， the Plantagenets， and others to see whether or not his research and writing style stand up against other academic historians。 。。。more
Scott MacFarland
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Also a good history of the decline of the Roman Empire。
Jenna ❤ ❀ ❤
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Everything I didn't know I wanted to know about the Middle Ages。。。 and more。This is the first time I had a library book expire on me and I had to put another hold on it before I could finish it。 Had I enjoyed the first part more， I probably would have bought it rather than wait a couple months to get it again。I might not have even bothered going back in the holds queue if it wasn't that I learned a lot in that first part， cumbersome though it was。 The beginning of the Middle Ages was just a bunc Everything I didn't know I wanted to know about the Middle Ages。。。 and more。This is the first time I had a library book expire on me and I had to put another hold on it before I could finish it。 Had I enjoyed the first part more， I probably would have bought it rather than wait a couple months to get it again。I might not have even bothered going back in the holds queue if it wasn't that I learned a lot in that first part， cumbersome though it was。 The beginning of the Middle Ages was just a bunch of people slaughtering each other: Muslims killing Christians。 Christians killing Muslims， pagans， and pretty much everyone who didn't think like them and refused to "convert"。 Marauders from the North killing Christians and Muslims and everyone else in order to conquer their lands。 People talk about how violent the world is today。 Ha！ Even with the current wars going on， it's nothing compared to the Dark and early Middle Ages。 This book isn't easy reading， even aside from all that blood and gore。 It's almost overdone in detail。 It was a chore to get through and at times felt like a textbook， a very dense textbook。 However， some chapters had me totally enthralled: "Monks"， "Merchants"， "Scholars"， "Builders"， "Survivors"， and the last chapter "Protestants"。 Those are more than sufficient to redeem the book from the humdrum （for me） parts。 This book focuses mostly on the West， but I was glad to note that the author pays homage to the Middle Easterners and Asians from whom we acquired knowledge and technology， something most Western authors prefer to ignore。 3。5 stars rounded up。 If you enjoy reading about the Middle Ages， you'll probably want to add this book to your TBR pile。 。。。more
Angelique Simonsen
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This was a great read！ Loved the humour and the amount of information packed into it is astounding
Russ Smith
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Jones can write history。 A history of this size and scope would be difficult to tell in a compelling story。 Dan Jones does it very well。 Loved it。
Alastair Savin
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A spectacularly good history of around 1，100 years of history。 Learned so much。 I loved how he broke the book into themes which meant that often you read about the same people and periods through multiple different lenses。 Highly recommended！
Karin
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4。5 stars
Lance
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An excellent look over history。 Not nearly as dry as you would be scared of， the author and his choice of subjects are actually quite strong。 Organized by concern rather than chronology this allows a much more understandable bite into the motivating factors。 Sadly because there isn't a chronological element tying them together it was a bit hard for me to get the full arc out of it。 A single book reading a sitting like this though shouldn't have that expectation put on it。 An excellent look over history。 Not nearly as dry as you would be scared of， the author and his choice of subjects are actually quite strong。 Organized by concern rather than chronology this allows a much more understandable bite into the motivating factors。 Sadly because there isn't a chronological element tying them together it was a bit hard for me to get the full arc out of it。 A single book reading a sitting like this though shouldn't have that expectation put on it。 。。。more
Nan Keel
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Not only was the story told in this book fascinating， Dan Jones both connected lots of dots I have learned over the years and connected them to the world today。
Justin
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instant classic Anything Dan writes ， I read。 Best book of his yet。 Felt like reading 4 books in one。 Can’t wait to read again
Bookthesp1
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Dan Jones reminds me of Michael Wood -the dashing TV historian from the 70s doing docs on Eric Bloodaxe， Domesday book and the Dark Ages et al。 Replace his sheepskin jacket with tattoos and social media video posts and you have Jones in all his savvy youthful progs。 This book shows us Jones is also a scholar whose mission is to produce crystal clear narrative history encompassing climate change and global themes within chapters that begin in micro terms with one person or event。 They then open o Dan Jones reminds me of Michael Wood -the dashing TV historian from the 70s doing docs on Eric Bloodaxe， Domesday book and the Dark Ages et al。 Replace his sheepskin jacket with tattoos and social media video posts and you have Jones in all his savvy youthful progs。 This book shows us Jones is also a scholar whose mission is to produce crystal clear narrative history encompassing climate change and global themes within chapters that begin in micro terms with one person or event。 They then open out to a wider canvas （ this is world wide） and compare both time zones and periods。 Jones is nothing but ambitious going from the Romans to the Reformation with a clever narrative putting everything in context whilst throwing in some fascinating stories in an almost novelistic fashion。A decent bibliography and some sharp connections make it a very decent stimulating read covering a huge amount of ground。！He doesn’t have the elegant prose of say Simon Schama but explains complex ideas and movements in History with skill and aplomb- highly recommended 。。。more
David
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This book covers Western history from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Protestant Reformation in approximately 600 pages。 The author is very upfront about what he is covering。 So you know what you are getting。 It's like a Western Civ class as it touches on many topics， but only as a brief overview。 I was still able to learn quite a bit， especially as the author covered Muslim history in North Africa and the Middle East。 Overall， a well-written overview。 This book covers Western history from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Protestant Reformation in approximately 600 pages。 The author is very upfront about what he is covering。 So you know what you are getting。 It's like a Western Civ class as it touches on many topics， but only as a brief overview。 I was still able to learn quite a bit， especially as the author covered Muslim history in North Africa and the Middle East。 Overall， a well-written overview。 。。。more
Tam
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A great summary text。 Covers a lot of territory without feeling like it sacrificed readability or depth。 I learned a good deal and enjoyed it。
Jake Middleton
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A big challenge to condense so much history into 600 or so pages。 Very engaging and with 50 pages of references so that you can dig into things in more detail。 Yes， the focus is European， but Dan ensures he touches on things that impact Europe and that is a known limitation （else this book would be a few thousand pages bigger）。 Would certainly recommend。
Beth
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amazing bookThis is great， lively history。。 beautifully told。 I highly recommend this along with his other books。 He is a wonderful writer。
David
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I am a history major so a well written history book is a pleasure for me to read。 This book covered a long period of time but it is organized so well that one can flow seamlessly from century to century and still see the influences that affected that time。 In terms of a river， you can start at the source and watch each tributary increase the flow of the river， but never lose sight of the river as it flows from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance。
Richard Jackson
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4。5 stars。 Enjoyed this immensely as to it's approach and how he used certain people as examples to to illustrate the times and events of that period rather than being a strict chronological text。 Lots of information to be understood but Dan Jones makes it a pleasure to absorb。 I am planning to read some of his other works and already have the Crusades on hold at the library。 I feel like I have be better understanding of the period after reading this work。 Recommended 4。5 stars。 Enjoyed this immensely as to it's approach and how he used certain people as examples to to illustrate the times and events of that period rather than being a strict chronological text。 Lots of information to be understood but Dan Jones makes it a pleasure to absorb。 I am planning to read some of his other works and already have the Crusades on hold at the library。 I feel like I have be better understanding of the period after reading this work。 Recommended 。。。more
Jossalyn
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a comprehensive， BIG， survey of medieval times。 very readable; broken into sections like Franks， Monks， Knights， Crusaders; that makes it digestible。 very much enjoyed it。
Keely
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3。6
Michael Cresci
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Fantastic "big picture" history of the era。 Fantastic "big picture" history of the era。 。。。more
Lynn
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Such a Great BookThis book encompasses 1000 years so it’s dense and packed with information。 I had to read more slowly to really comprehend what is in the book。 It’s a joy to read and shows so much insight into the Middle Ages。 A wonderful history I highly recommend。
Robert
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Good narrative overviewJones offers a fast-paced narrative of the key political， economic， social， and religious developments of the 1000 - plus years between the end of the western Roman Empire and the Renaissance。 In this broad span he covers the Byzantines， Charlemagne， the Crusades， the rise of Islam， the Mongol empires， the Black Death， the countless wars and unending intrigues of Europe's various dynasties， and so forth。 He includes art， architecture， trade， and finance。 Of course he can o Good narrative overviewJones offers a fast-paced narrative of the key political， economic， social， and religious developments of the 1000 - plus years between the end of the western Roman Empire and the Renaissance。 In this broad span he covers the Byzantines， Charlemagne， the Crusades， the rise of Islam， the Mongol empires， the Black Death， the countless wars and unending intrigues of Europe's various dynasties， and so forth。 He includes art， architecture， trade， and finance。 Of course he can only skip lightly over much of this material， quite appropriate in such a broad survey。 I would have preferred a little less detail on the blood and gore of medieval warfare and a little more depth on the workings of medieval social and political systems。 。。。more
Maria
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Power and Thrones covers a thousand years of history from the fall of Rome in the fifth century AD to the first contacts between the old and new worlds in the sixteenth century。 This book is about an era of profound change both positive and negative and covers the noteworthy events and influences that drove change and development through the entire Middle Ages， and which continue to effect humanity into the 21st century。It is hard to name a history writer that is as entertaining or informative a Power and Thrones covers a thousand years of history from the fall of Rome in the fifth century AD to the first contacts between the old and new worlds in the sixteenth century。 This book is about an era of profound change both positive and negative and covers the noteworthy events and influences that drove change and development through the entire Middle Ages， and which continue to effect humanity into the 21st century。It is hard to name a history writer that is as entertaining or informative as Jones。 To use a time-worn cliché， he really makes “history come alive。” 。。。more
Elise
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I love you Dan Jones
Jim Swike
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For a history of the middle ages， too many lead up chapters from the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages。 Maybe you will feel differently。 Enjoy！
Sharon-anne Leach
，
Enormous yet FascinatingThis is a great book！ It has taken me months to read it but it covers so many interesting figures and themes - monks， knights， scholars and navigators are just a few of the chapters but it covers kings， emperors， princes and popes。 As well as Petrarch， Da Vinci， Marco Polo， Genghis Khan and many others。 Well worth the commitment！
Eric
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Engaging throughout， filled with information， and smoothly flowing across 1100 years， I could have read another 500 pages。 Excellent read！
Thea
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Well that was so fun！ Not necessarily an intellectually challenging book， but a really great overview of the history of greater Europe from over the course of a bit over 1000 years。 The book elicits a desire to delve deeper into so many eras， movements， ideas， and concepts。 I want to read more about medieval Italy， I am fascinated by the rise of the Mongol empire， I am curious about the changing face of economic history， I will always read about the Black Death。 This is really just a primer of a Well that was so fun！ Not necessarily an intellectually challenging book， but a really great overview of the history of greater Europe from over the course of a bit over 1000 years。 The book elicits a desire to delve deeper into so many eras， movements， ideas， and concepts。 I want to read more about medieval Italy， I am fascinated by the rise of the Mongol empire， I am curious about the changing face of economic history， I will always read about the Black Death。 This is really just a primer of a million other books， with histories of economics， architecture， art， politics， military， religion， etc。 covering France， England， Central Europe， North Africa， Asia Minor， and beyond。 It's a giant book， but it's still a relatively superficial （not in a bad way） review of a huge swath of history。 I feel like it's a wonderful， giant appetizer。 So fun！ 。。。more
Kevin
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Well written general history。 Not sure why the author felt the need to write this。 If you paid attention in school then you already know most of this stuff。Heavily focused on Western Europe。 A good chapter on the emergence of Islam。
Forest Jones
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