Inventing the Middle Ages

Rating:
Summary: Off the scale
Review: Norman Cantor's Inventing the Middle Ages is arguably the best history book I have ever read - at the very least it belongs in my top ten. Of course, it isn't actually a book of history, but rather historiography. None-the-less, it is an absolute delight. Cantor takes the reader for a mesmerizing and often hilarious ride through the last 100-odd years of medieval scholarship, skewering the minor and mighty alike. Kantorowitz, Huizinga, Tolkien, the Annalists -- all fall before his sword. But there is more here than just screed - Cantor's no holds barred description of the growth and development of medieval scholarship is informed and informative. His lucid prose reflects utter familiarity with the complex literary currents of his period, a familiarity derived from a lifetime of scholarly immersion. One can't help but read this book and be spurred on to read further in medieval history.

Regarding the very negative reviews below - these baffle me. I can't figure out if the writers are humorless, lack any ironic sense at all, or simply take themselves (and the historical profession) far too seriously. But they seem to have missed entirely the underlying humor and humanity in this book. I have often found that some of the most entertaining and worthwhile books receive highly polarized reviews on Amazon, and this is a case in point.

If you have ever yearned for the non-fiction equivalent to Moo, Small World, or Lucky Jim, then Inventing the Middle Ages is for you. I've read other recent books (more like "booklets") from Cantor - In the Wake of the Plague comes to mind - and they are disappointing by contrast, quite brief and read more like collections of lectures. But don't let this or the few negative reviews dissuade you from picking up a copy of the superb Inventing the Middle Ages. I can't recommend this book highly enough.