A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th CenturyA Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century
Score Classic
What it's about
Barbara Tuchman tells the story of the fourteenth century, one of the most disastrous in European history: the Black Death killed a third of the population, the Hundred Years' War ravaged France, two rival popes split the Church, and peasants rose in revolt. She follows it through the life of one French nobleman, Enguerrand de Coucy, who seemed to be everywhere.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Award. Tuchman, who also wrote The Guns of August, makes the medieval world vivid and suggests it holds a mirror to our own.
You'll love it if you liked
The Guns of August
The Name of the Rose
Doomsday BookGood to know
It's long and dense, with a lot of battles and politics. The opening chapters on medieval life are the most gripping.
By the numbers
- Readers54 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics61 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller22 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #136 of the 198 history books we rank
- #164 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #316 of the 762 classics we rank
- #1024 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
More by Barbara W. Tuchman
If you like this, read next
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill
Dispatches
The Path to Power
The Souls of Black FolkExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Award. It ranks #1,024 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 72.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century about?
Barbara Tuchman tells the story of the fourteenth century, one of the most disastrous in European history: the Black Death killed a third of the population, the Hundred Years' War ravaged France, two rival popes split the Church, and peasants rose in revolt. She follows it through the life of one French nobleman, Enguerrand de Coucy, who seemed to be everywhere.
How long does it take to read A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century?
About 18 hours (738 pages), or about 5 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century won?
National Book Award (Nonfiction) winner (1980).
What should I read after A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century?
If you liked it, try The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman, The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco or Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.