Download Software.org

 

The Cheese and the Worms - The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller

4 stars (Microhistory of the masses) - Borne of the microhistory genre, "The Cheese and the Worms" provides a glimpse into the life of a miller in medieval Italy. No ordinary miller is 'Menocchio', however, as he is inquisitioned for his radical religious philosophies. In a time and place where Catholicism was undoubtedly the religion of Europe, Menocchio harbored unique ideas about religious doctrine, the teachings of the Catholic Church, and man's purpose. Although some of his many ideas contradict others that he had, he was well-read and surprisingly well-educated for a man of his station. As Ginzburg says, though, we must look to the Protestant Reformation and the invention of the printing press as being major catalysts for such learning and religious evolution. Within the microhistory genre, "The Cheese and the Worms" is most fascinating when we ask the question: Was this an isolated phenonmenon or was this a reflection of many people's views? The answer, I suppose, lies with Menocchio, but there is still much to be gleaned from this book. 5 stars (Well written, fascinating tale) - Description of a miller with an intresting ('modern') cosmological belief whose rebellion in thought is prosecuted by the Taliban of that time, the Roman Catholic Church. Forced to explain his nonAristotelian views (and, if Ginzburg is telling the truth, he responded extremely well to the inquisitors' questions!), the miller outwits his arrogant, narrow-minded judges and so wins the reward of torture and imprisonment, losing his wife, family, everything in the end. Galileo, who had a higher social position and powerful protectors, suffered no worse than house arrest, in comparison. 5 stars (Keep this book in mind) - Anytime you want to tell yourself that the Catholic Church isn't that bad, just keep this book in mind. It is just more proof that the church is the most corrupt institution in the history of time. . .with that in mind. The book is very interesting, it deals with th...
The Johns Hopkins University Press :: History & Europe & General :: Reformation (1517-1648) :: Modern World History (Circa 1450 To Present) :: Medieval :: History- World :: History - General History :: The Cheese and the Worms - The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller

 

The New Concise History of the Crusades- Revised Edition

4 stars (Insight in medieval history) - The New Concise History shows a good view on the Medieval 'madness' in which thoudands and thousands of people wandered through Europe, disorganised, plundering and pillaging, without the organisational powers of the former Roman armies driven by religious fanatism. It also gives insight into the current situation of the Middle East. Once the christian knights of Europe were not far from the Jihad warriors of today...Wruthless, without compassion, murdering anyone that had not the Christian faith. Especially the Jews of Germany had to endur in the start of the Crusads....In so far af very good and readable book. The author does not use any difficult language, myself being from Holland, and it gives a very good oversight and insight into Europe around the year 1000... 5 stars (GOOD WORK TO GET YOU STARTED ) - As other reviewers have pointed out, there are pros and cons to this particular work. I have some reservations myself, but overall, found the work good. This work does indeed give us a good, if somewhat brief, overview of the crusades. The author does present some ideas that are a bit different than than those that have been traditionally taught, and for the most part, unquestioned. This, in my opinion is a good thing as it makes us all think. On the other hand, I am not enough of an expert to be able to verify with any validity some of his statements. I do feel the author tried to be fare. On the other hand he tells us "research" is able to give us much more insight as to what was in the hearts and minds of men and women several centuries ago. I find this hard to beleave at times. I also felt the author sort of fluffed over and flitted through some pretty important aspects of the crusades. The act of completely obliterating city after city and the killing of hundreds of innocent people, really deserves more than one or two sentences. All in all, the work is a good survey and I feel it's greatest value is to spu...
Rowman - Littlefield Publishers Inc :: World history- c 500 to C 1500 :: Islam :: History & General :: History & Europe & General :: Europe :: Christianity :: Military - General :: Medieval :: History- Wor :: The New Concise History of the Crusades- Revised Edition

 

Modern European History

5 stars (AP European History Students: Please Read!) - I just got my AP exam scores today for the 2005 examinations and I am proud to say that I got a 4 on the exam thanks to this book and the Princeton's Review Book. This book has a really good and easy to understand review for each of the topics tested on the AP exam and it really helps alot! 5 stars (ABSOLUTELY AMAZING) - I was in an AP class. I did not put my full effort into the AP Euro class and was scared right before the AP. Right about a month before the test I bought this book and read it all the way through. The day before the test I reviewed what I felt were the top 5 most important subjects (French Revolution, WWI, etc.) Needless to say, to my surprise I got a 5 on the test. An I truly would have to say that 85% of that grade came from reading this book. 5 stars (Partition of Lithuania) - I have found one error in this otherwise excellent book, an error that has been repeated in many other books of modern European history. When discussing the partitions of Poland the author discusses the partition of Lithuanian territories as though these territories were a part of Poland. He states that Byelorussia and Polish Ukraine were ceded to Russia by Poland. This is not true. The fact of the matter is that Byelorussia and parts of the Ukraine were ruled by Lithuania and not by Poland. There was a Lithuanian Ukraine but there never was any such thing as the Polish Ukraine. Hopefully these matters will be resolved in later editions. ...
McGraw-Hill :: History & Europe & General :: Study Guides :: History :: Modern :: History :: Europe - General :: Europe :: 1492- :: Birdsall S Viault :: :: Modern European History