Tom Holland has risen very quickly to become one of the UK's foremost popular historians. The rpimary reason is his ability to tell a complex story reasonably simply through sharp and lucid prose.

With his third book, he has tried to add an element of analysis to the storytelling but he doesn't seem wholly comfortable with it. His argument is that it was this period that saw the formal seperation of church and the state which gave rise to the distinction between Christian western Europe and Islam. However, it's not a particularly strong argument and he pursues it rather half-heartedly.

The storytelling is compelling. The first crusade, castles and terrorising castellions springing up everywhere, the collapse of Muslim Spain, Viking pirates, the Norman invasion...there's plenty of action here. Such a canvas would be too broad for many writers but Holland just about manages to keep it together although there are so many charcaters to deal with it does become a bit difficult to follow sometimes. ( )

Anyone interested in history will enjoy this book. The events leading up to the year 1000, with anticipation of Christ’s return, is filled with much bloodshed. The Norsemen, the Vikings, were a ruthless bunch. Their activities were not just in Western Europe but also in the East. I was surprised to learn that the name, “Russia” is derived from the Norsemen - “Russ” meaning “Oarsmen”.
The activities of the Catholic church, all in the name of God, is full of blood-shed, fighting for control of Kings and the effort to convert everyone to Christianity in anticipation of the end times. After the millennium came and went, without the arrival of the Christ and the Anti-Christ, the movement continued with the crusades. The justification of killing and being absolved from the sins of murder was quite normal. The end justifying the means is often seen today. ( )

A great book that explores the Europe around the year 1000 and the relationship between the Church and the rest of the "world". It is a great and relatively (for the subject matter) easy read, and I loved it from start to finish. ( )