A Distant Mirror

The Calamitous 14th Century

By: Barbara Tuchman

Narrated by: Aviva Skell

The Bubonic Plague of the 14th century killed one third of all human beings in Europe and Western Asia; many who survived the plague killed each other in the Hundred Years War that followed. What was it like to live in this calamitous century, when knighthood (and much more) died a violent death? Find out.

©1978 Barbara W. Tuchman (P)1984 Recorded Books

Beautifully narrated, but long.

I had trouble keeping up with dates and events. Nonetheless, the book painted a vivid picture of the era. I learned that what we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history.

Masterful Portrait of a Tragic Era

Tuchman’s voice shines among the greatest historians in the English language. This book was an incredible journey.

Intermediate French

I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’ve got an intermediate grasp of French language and French history otherwise you’ll be left in the dust fairly quickly.

comprehensive

detailed yet concise for covering an entire century. my one complaint was the reader's pronunciation of the word, 'sire.' she pronounced it 'seer.'

Tedious

I had tried to read this book before and thought the audiio book would be easier. It was still a lot like reading an encyclopia...lots of names, dates, and places but no thread to make it relevant.