What is Reddit's opinion of The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science?

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> I started learning celestial navigation last year.

I can recommend picking up "The Light Ages" by Seb Falk.

https://www.amazon.com/Light-Ages-Surprising-Medieval-Science/dp/132400293X

The Light Ages -- The Surprising Story of Medieval Science by Seb Falk

Obviously, yes. For plenty of details, see...

https://www.amazon.com/Light-Ages-Surprising-Medieval-Science/dp/132400293X/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Ages-Medieval-Journey-Discovery-ebook/dp/B084TFLJ6S/

I was going to craft a more dedicated review, but I figured it wouldn't be that interesting and there's plenty enough out there already on both books.

To be brief, I just finished reading the second of two similarly-titled books on Medieval history: The Light Ages and The Bright Ages.

The focus of both is quite different, and if it wasn't for the coincidentally kindred titles, there's not much tying them together. I'm not so much talking about the books, but more so what they represent in terms of their production, promotion, and dissemination.

But I just wanted to briefly say that The Light Ages is one of the most well-written books on Medieval history I've ever read, and has honestly "blown my mind", as it were (even though I never really bought into the stereotype of the Dark Ages in the first place). I really, really got sucked in by the unique approach used by the author, and it made the subject matter all the more richer.

Whereas I thought the Bright Ages was... fine. Lots of good stuff there, but a little self-indulgent in its writing, chock-full of lazy allusions to contemporary politics... I kind of got the impression that it was written to draw in people who have little regard for the Middle Ages in its own right. Actually, I think that's a little harsh, but I can't escape the feeling that it's not about the Middle Ages per se, it's about our understanding of it.

From there, to editorialize a little more, I'm not surprised that I was recommended the Light Ages by a former Medievalist friend of mine, whereas I encountered the Bright Ages multiple times through non-Medieval contexts, that is, in the course of their promotional tour through the halls of the twitterati and other political pundits. Next time, I'll keep that in mind when I'm picking a book. Although no regrets, and if you know little to nothing about the Middle Ages, I think the Bright Ages is a not-bad place to start.