The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Medieval World

Review: Historical Atlas of the Medieval World“The Historical Atlas of the Medieval World” is a little gem. In the usual Penguin Atlas style short summaries of history are placed along side well done maps of the area being discussed. While the summaries are very short, abbreviated and eclectic in the information relayed, they do give a flavor of the history. But followup with thicker, heavier texts is necessary for a full understanding. The maps are well done, and very general in nature. But the combination of the maps and the essays yields a wonderful short route to a general understanding of the exact piece of history under discussion. And as for many of the Penguin Atlases, quick reference books are not available to the general public on the topics covered.While I cannot recommend this book as a complete coverage of an important, but often neglected, period, I enjoyed the filling in of what I missed in the usual history classes in school. Now, I can go and search further knowledge much better and with more understanding than before.For it's purpose an excellent book.

I have been reading through the Story of Civilization by Will Durant and though these volumes do have maps, they are not always easy to read and are somewhat limited in scope.I can say that my understanding of history and geography has been greatly helped and enriched by these atlas' AND the scholarship present in the summations of geography, people, culture and chronologically specific movements in medieval times. An excellent resource for the price.Note: These atlas' are much more rewarding when read along side a history book like Will Durant, Toynbee, Herodotus etc. as opposed to all on their own.

The maps are beautiful, as are the many illustrations. But they are so tiny! The book is smaller than a sheet of letter-size paper. There are a couple maps that fill the page, but most are half- or quarter-page in size, or even smaller. If the book were twice the size I'd give it another star, as the maps really are handsome. However, some events are treated a bit superficially. The Hundred Years War is represented only by two small maps.

I am very pleased with the purchase of this book. I read a lot of historical fiction and am fascinated with the medieval world and love maps. I wish all historical fiction books contained maps but they don't so I got this book for reference. Turns out it is a pretty good read itself. This book is great for the overall picture of all that was going on at that time from British Isles to the Crusades.

So well made. So clear. So detailed. So amazing!

When it arrived I thought it was a little small for an atlas. Now I am glad it fits in my backpackwhen I go to class or the library. Amazing amount of information in this book. The maps fill out my understanding of historical events. Helps a lot !Arrived quickly in perfect condition !

Wonderful, superb - the maps are off-the-charts fantastic. What a great buy this one was. Thanks

This is an amazing book. Arrived in excellent condition - just as described. I appreciate it very much. Thank you. Margaret

I found this disapointing- I wanted an atlas. Instead there are quarter-page maps with lots of low level historical text. This is not an atlas.

The Penguin historical Atlas series are an excellent tool which I use time and time again.

It is helping greatly on a course I am doing on medieval History. Good maps for the periods of history we are diving.

This was just waht I was expecting, well documented maps and informative text with just enough information to whet my appetite to research further into areas I don't have alot of knowledge on. The maps and subjects covered were of very high standard and I thoroughly enjoyed each one.

This atlas gives a comprehensive overview of the so-called 'middle ages'. The maps are clear, in colour and informative. The written summaries are concise and lead on to further reading. In all - highly recommended.