The Modern Scholar: The Medieval World I: Kingdoms, Empires, and War

Another good course from a master

There are reasons why I bought just about every lectures given by Thomas F. Madden, if one can forgive his stylistic dullness, his lecture was concise, to the point and informative. The lecture bridges the gap between middle age and high middle age, often 14th century feel too much like a vacume, except 100 year war, it almost feel as if nothing interesting occur after the 4th crusade in 1204 to 1454, if you feel this way, this course would bridge it.

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An interesting and inspiring course

Dr. Madden's lectures inspired me to get interested in the medieval world to a degree that I had not anticipated. Extremely interesting topic. I learned so much. How little we know of the peoples, kingdoms and empires that formed the foundation of our society throughout the middle ages.

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Prof Madden is fabulous

What did you like best about this story?

Prof Madden is not at all condescending. This is part 1 of 2 parts- both are excellent and informative and Prof M makes amusing and interesting asides. I've listened to all about 4/5 times.

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Fantastic Listen

What made the experience of listening to The Modern Scholar the most enjoyable?

The author ties everything together so well.

Have you listened to any of the narrator’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I like all of Professor Madden's lectures.

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Worthy every penny

Any additional comments?

While this lecture is not a graduate level course by any means, it is a fantastic 200-300 level undergraduate lecture. Dr. Madden is the foremost Crusade historian alive today, and masterfully delivers his extensive knowledge in the Modern Scholar series. Do not listen to those who complain that it's too basic or that he lapses in speech, they're used to gaudy and verbose lectures. True genius is in communicating concisely and exactly, not with a plethora of obtuse and obscure words; take it from a medieval grad student-- less is more/better in academia.

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Nice Overview

Nice overview on the political history of Europe in the Medieval time. Highlights the important turning points, and the events that lead to shape Europe as we know it today. It's a bit difficult to keep up with all the names and people if you're not already familiar with them.

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Wonderful History

If you could sum up The Modern Scholar in three words, what would they be?

Great Learning System

What other book might you compare The Modern Scholar to and why?

Thomas Cahill's histories, gives a lot more background than just dates and actions.

Which character – as performed by the narrator – was your favorite?

This question is not relevant to this title

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Overall it is an eye opener to the fact that what we are taught were the "Dark Ages" were actually a pretty vibrant era of transition. His explanation of the the feudal system and how it developed was particularly insightful.

Any additional comments?

Other reviewers have disparaged the professor's style, I find it very engaging. It is as though he is talking directly to the listener and he sometimes drops in a modern idiom which is delightfully out of place.

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religion

they still can't makeup their mind about it.. leaves us all confussed. need to the quiz.

Favorite audible lecturer; interesting topic

I'm dumbfounded by the reviewers panning Prof. Madden's speaking style; he's one of my favorites on Audible and I wish he were still recording more! Listen to a sample to decide what camp you are in. He does have a deadpan style, but I find it soothing and dryly funny; sort of the opposite to a Rufus Fears type over-emoting (at least in my book).

Substantively, the Middle Ages are fascinating, especially in the hands of someone who can discern what we can know, what we don't know, and the trends in historians' views of the limited source material. If you find this topic interesting, I would highly recommend his courses on the Crusades and on the History of Venice, though I have yet to run across one I didn't like. They are all reminiscent of the best of college lectures.

Madden at his scholarly best.

I've listened to a dozen courses from Professor Madden, and this is right up there among my favorites. His style is very informal, with a great narrative flow and lots of fascinating asides along the way. The course itself has a very broad scope, so if you are looking for general knowledge or just want to brush up on the period, you won't be disappointed. Highly recommended!