this was a VERY GOOD history book. sensationalistic, one might say, but a.) it's for all the right reasons and b.) it never made any pretensions at targeting seasoned academics and is very clearly intended for the lay reader.*

one thing i never expected with this book is that it made me genuinely laugh more than once — which speaks to its virtues, i'd say! overall: very lovely and quite underrated, plus it's doing the Lord's work (heh) in dispelling the truly ugly myth of the so-called 'dark ages' all the while delivery its lessons in very accessible and highly engaging prose!

*that said, it is VERY scholarly: there's an exhaustive index, copious endnotes, and a very interesting suggested reading guide as well as meticulous references.