Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R.R. Martin

For the past several years, Mark and I have enjoyed watching the HBO series Game of Thrones. Mark had read all of Martin's books up to the time of the TV series premiere, but I never had. Everyone says how great the books are, so I finally decided to give the first book a try. I loved it so much I tore through all 800 pages and am already a third of the way through book 2!

Martin's prose is relatively simple and straightforward, but his world is vividly portrayed in all 5 senses and his realistic character depictions make the courtly intrigues and ancient mysteries come alive brilliantly. One of my favorite characters is Lord Tyrion, a little person and son of the powerful house of Lannister. In a world where warriors rule and a disabled man is worth less than a woman, Tyrion uses his wits and humor to remain relevant and preserve his dignity in a society that has derisively termed him "the Imp." Fond of drink and whores, Tyrion is nevertheless the source of many of the book's words of wisdom. He gives several valuable pieces of advice to Jon Snow, the bastard son of powerful Lord Stark, who holds a similarly low place in their world's hierarchy. One such quote is when Tyrion explains his love of reading by saying that "a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”

Martin famously kills off nearly every major character (and many minor ones), and it is a strong storyteller indeed who can hold the reader's interest in the events of the world, not just in specific people.

Very exciting and more food for thought than in your usual "light reading."

The Year 1000

This extremely charming book about life in the year 1000 is organized around the 12 months of the year, and the activities that were typical of that month. It is densely packed with fascinating information, and is extremely readable. Many fascinating facts in this book and I highly recommend it to everyone!

The first page of every chapter bears that month's illustration from the Julius Work Calendar, such as these:

The Medieval Underworld - Andrew McCall

This book was interesting, but very painful to read because McCall tortures all of his sentences. In McCall's hands, for example, the previous sentence might read: "The sentences of this book, being tortured by McCall, were very painful to read, yet interesting did I find the book."Or some such nonsense.

Anyway, the content was engaging - the book opens with the context of the Middle Ages, the theory behind Church, State, and sin, then the nature of medieval punishment (cruel and unusual), following by a closer treatment of several strains of deviants in the Middle Ages:

• bandits, freebooters and outlaws
• richman, poorman, beggarman, thieves
• prostitutes
• homosexuals
• heretics
• sorcerers and witches
• Jews

The book ends with an analysis of the medieval conception of hell.

Again, interesting, but perhaps not worth the effort.

Great Harry - Carrolly Erickson

Another tremendous biography by Ms. Erickson. Like Bloody Mary, Great Harry is a vibrant, engaging portrait of life in 1500s England, both the intrigue and lavish splendor of the court, and the violence, ignorance, and squalor of the poor. Ms. Erickson is a master storyteller - King Henry VIII is convincing portrayed as a highly intelligent and ambitious (though flawed) ruler, who is here shown in all his facets and stages - charismatic, handsome, idealistic and beloved in his youth, irascible, peevish, and self-important in his old age, always majestic and awe-inspiring. Hundreds upon hundreds of contemporary quotes are seamlessly woven into this tale, giving it a very rich and authentic flavor of the period and of "Great Harry," as he was called by his adoring subjects in the early years of his reign. A brilliant work, and I can't wait to read more Erickson!

The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe - Brian P. Levack

Levack's work is a overview of the legal, political, economic, religious, and epidemic circumstances which he argues enabled the great witch-hunts of early modern Europe. Although witches have been a lifelong interest for me, and I was eagerly anticipating reading this book, I found it kind of disappointing, to be honest.

The scope feels too broad - Levack seldom dives deeply into the particulars of any given hunt, preferring to treat the issue in very general terms. The book is surprisingly dry and even boring, which seems nearly impossible, treating as it does the lurid topics of torture, naked dancing, and burning at the stake, which in this book are described in the most clinical, repetitious passages. Levack also almost never includes direct quotes from contemporaries, which would have spiced it up considerably.

I did learn a few things, but the book could have been a third as long and 10 times more exciting. Especially on the heals of Erickson's riveting historical drama about Mary Tudor, this was pretty dull. Would not recommend.

Plagues and Peoples - William McNeil

This book by William McNeil offers an interesting interpretation of the way that epidemic disease has shaped the course of world history from ancient times to the present day, a topic that the author asserts has been neglected in traditional historical accounts. The book is written in a charmingly old-fashioned style which is pleasant to read, although it is at times a bit tediously wordy and the citations are sparser than I would like.

Nevertheless, here is one passage from the Introduction that I think provides a good example of the interesting theories underpinning this book:

Disease and parasitism play a pervasive role in all life. A successful search for food on the part of one organism becomes for its host a nasty infection or disease. All animals depend on other living things for food, and human beings are no exception. Problems of finding food and the changing ways human communities have done so are familiar enough in economic histories. The problems of avoiding becoming food for some other organism are less familiar, largely because from very early times human beings have ceased to have much to fear from large-bodied animal predators like lions or wolves. Nevertheless, one can properly think of most human lives as caught in a precarious equilibrium between the microparasitism of disease organisms and the macroparasitism of large-bodied predators, chief among which have been other human beings.

Originally published in 1977, parts are noticeably antiquated, but it remains an interesting and thought-provoking work which has sparked my interest in learning much more about the bubonic plague and the medieval period.