The roots and leaves of the institution of slavery in Brazil, is what this book focuses on. We travel the trade route from Africa to England to South America. Katia M. de Queiros Mattoso's goal is to show us that, contrary to popular belief, the new slaves who were ripped from their homeland were "docile" and " ready to accept their new status as slaves" (85). She brings us into a world that shows no matter what the slaves were, they were not faceless, emotionless savages the Europeans wanted to reduce them to.
Mattoso's coverage of three centuries is an attempt to encompass the truth of slavery, not the "assumed" myth of so many other scholars (85). Wonderfully organized and thought provoking, she shows us a world few have seen, so that we may see the truth. She avoids the overbearing this is how it is, and that is that, statements by giving us human images, their motivations and encounters that a slave would have likely run across
and have experienced.
The arguments that Mattoso offers are very persuasive to readers because she appeals to our sense of humanity. Mattoso shows us tables, statistics, historical documentation and finally puts all of these into a person whom we can relate. The goal to show that slaves were an integral part of the society in which they lived begins to take shape as a sound theory later in the book. For example in chapter five we see slaves in Brazil taking part in many activities, from skilled work to common tasks such as the education of children and family life. This range of activities shows just how engrained slaves were in their new society, for the children their only society.
To Be a Slave in Brazil shows us the many thoughts and going-ons that happened throughout the slave trade. The book introduces us to the New World as aslave and slave owner would see it, not as how we fantasize it was. There are truths and facts to support these claims made by Mattoso. Written for all, she uses all sources available, both familiar and original, and manages to put a new spin on an old tale.Students and scholars alike should put this book on their to do list

This book is a good idea. But there is room for litterature that can tell the same in a more lively way with far fewer words. ...or can tell four time as much with the same number of pages. - The language of most of the authors is such that you wonder WHY they have chocen to say what they attempt to tell in such flowery ways. After a paragraph it's hard to remember "What did he try to tell me now." It's easier to think: "Yes. I can see that you have learnt a hole lot of words, and adjevtives in particular." - I have found litterature about the same topic, put in a different language that manage to do this far better. In fact I've found public reports that with regards to the ability to convey a thought is far more readable.

This is again an extremely full meal as a reading experience, though because of the uniformity of the culture - it does not involve such a fundamental transition as that from paganism to Christianity - it is somewhat less rich than the first volume though equally massive.

Nonetheless, there are huge changes going on: at the start of the Gothic era, there was an explosion of availability of materials on private life. Suddenly there were memoires, fiction, more realistic painted portraits (capturing real character and not just stylized), and sturdier surviving architecture, all of which offer a far more accurate picture of the times than was available during the dark ages. Piecing all of this together is utterly fascinating, as the reader is treated to detailed analyses of the costumes, customs, eating habits, and concerns that are reflected in them. You can get a wonderful idea about the texture of everyday life, though more from the standpoint of aristocrats than more common people.

Unfortunately, due to the overall goal of the writing on private life, the reasons behind these bigger changes are scarcely mentioned and hence little analyzed. While my disappointment of this reflects my own ignorance of the history of the period, it might also serve as a warning to non-specialists who want to know more. THe only chapter I found dull was a very very long one on the common themes of literary sources.

That being said, the book covers written sources, archaeology, and art extremely well: they seem to have been converging on the emergence of the "individual" that occurred just prior to the Renaissance. It is an amazingly interesting story. Indeed, there are so many strands in all of this that I found myself in awe of a period of history that I heretofore saw as far more uniform, as a precursor to the modern era or a disappointing sequel to the astonishing unity and sophistication of the classical era.

Recommended.

This book is a superior history of life in the middle ages. Duby's research is exhaustive and all sorts of interesting tidbits about medieval life are scattered through the book. Also there is a profusion of illustrations from the period which help clarify the social history. From castle architecture to peasant clothing, this book covers it all. I highly recommend it for readers interested in the middle ages.

Although there are interesting facts about life in the Sixteenth Century, they are few and far between in this book. Probably a good doctorial thesis, this is a tedious, at times redundant, read

Readers should understand that this is not a historical novel, but a detailed narrative about Europe during a period of great religious, political, social and cultural upheaval. Tracing the lives of the Platter men, Thomas and his two sons, Felix and Thomas, Jr., the author reveals a society often overlooked by modern readers. While most historians deal with the political side only, LaDurie focuses on the religious turbulence that ultimately resulted in a new Europe. The fact that Thomas Platter, Sr., an illiterate peasant, was able to rise to a position of respected teacher and publisher, one who was a contemporary of Calvin, and published his Institutes, tells us much about the opportunities for social advancement during the period. Felix's experiences in southern France and his relationships with Spanish Jews sheds a great deal of light on another portion of "hidden history." The influence of the "New World" is also beginning to be felt across! the continent at this time. For any student of social geography or religious history, this book is an absolute treasure chest.

In his introductory remarks, LeGoff promises to situate the evolution of the concept of Purgatory in a broad socio-cultural context, and to show how it influenced and was influenced by developments in society's and individuals' self-understanding in the period ca. 1000-1300. Such a micro-analytic material-ideological hermeneutical exegesis would be, IMO, exciting indeed. Alas, where the connections are made, they are only cursorily asserted or alluded to. Although the topic of the birth of Purgatory, i.e., a certain focused change in medieval Christian cosmography, seems a narrow enough subject to cover in 350 pages, this book gives the feeling of almost being "out of breath" in trying to cover too much territory, so that the depth of engagement with the material is not satisfying.

A big book, nearly 700 page long but a very detailed picture of the thoughts and life styles of the France which ushered in the Age of Enlightenment, leading up to the Revolution. Some information was too detailed for me, such as references to percentages of populations which did this or that. Some of the book contained only Roche's opinions based upon the facts he dug up. Overall, it was highly informative but not surprising. I suppose that I was not surprised with the finding that the rural areas of France were slower to change than the cities, that Paris set the intellectual pace for the rest of the nation, that blind faith in religion suffocated thought, that nobility made every effort to maintain its position over the lower classes.

Roche, however, did give a good picture of how the stage was set for the Enlightenment, going into almost every facet of day-to-day living in France in the late 18th Century. I got a good picture, though a brief one, of the reigns of Louis XIV, XV and XVI and for the first time in my education, I am able to get these reigning monarchs straight.

Roche has a quirky, teacher style of writing, though clearly expressed. Almost on every page, he will tell you that such-and-such happened for two, three, or four reasons. The numbering method of exposition is an insight into the way his mind is organized. It is also evidence that he did not merely set down his factual findings, but that he thought about what he found and tried to relate them to what was the historical result.

All in all, a very worthwhile project, reading this massive book.

This book is a good idea. But there is room for litterature that can tell the same in a more lively way with far fewer words. ...or can tell four time as much with the same number of pages. - The language of most of the authors is such that you wonder WHY they have chocen to say what they attempt to tell in such flowery ways. After a paragraph it's hard to remember "What did he try to tell me now." It's easier to think: "Yes. I can see that you have learnt a hole lot of words, and adjevtives in particular." - I have found litterature about the same topic, put in a different language that manage to do this far better. In fact I've found public reports that with regards to the ability to convey a thought is far more readable.

I had a much harder time getting into this volume than the two previous ones. It is far more limited geographically in that about 90% of it is about France and it is also edited rather poorly: many of the chapters are chock full of vague generalizations that require far more historical knowledge than I had to evaluate them (my failing, perhaps, but also an indication of the level of the book). Finally, many of the chapters were far less fun than the ones in the previous two volumes.

That being said, there are absolutely wonderful nuggets embedded throughout the book. This is, afterall, the era when the individual emerges en masse from the "community" mentality of the middle ages, as the absolutist state (and its embryonic legal system) replaces the more relationship-based bonds of feudal communties. This had innumerable consequences, including the development of public schools on a widespread basis and a sense of justice as administered by the state rather than by a feudal lord who demanded personal loyalty.

THere are also many episodes within this that make for great reading. For example, there is a whole chapter on the development of accepted manners for the middle classes and even below, based on those of the court but also on books on etiquette such as one written by Erasmus himself, which astounded me as I learned its various editions were influential for over 300 years on wuch topics as acceptable table manners. THere were also chapters on charivari - a kind of moralistic razzing of newlyweds that combined extortion and youthful exuberance, carried out as they were (sometimes for months) by amoral thugs! Even the notion of childhood - of the child having a distinctive personality with his/her own requirements and needs - was developed in this period. ANd of course, there is the growth of the practive of friendship by choice, so rare in the middle ages, rather than via kinship ties or feudal obligation, which had subordinated most feelings to the survival of the extended clan.

Nonetheless, these delightful chapters are buried in many dull and poorly written ones that were a terrible slog to get through. I was very disappointed by this, having loved the volumes on the ancient world and the middle ages. Perhaps it was marked by the death of the founding editor. I will try the later volumes, but worry they will not measure up. The title is also misleading: this volume is less about the Renaissance than what followed, that is, the period of religious wars and the development of absolutism.

REcommended to those willing to make the effort, but not for the casual reader.

I was tricked into buying this book. It is being marketed as a general history of Paris for the traveler or Francophile. Unfortunately, it reads much more like someone's masters thesis. As such, it brings with it all the usual problems of academic writing. Here is a sample sentence:

"In perfect anthithesis to this, phantasmagoria was an ideological mechanism of exclusion."

Sadly, there's lots more where that came from. This book was not written to entertain, inspire, or inform the reader; it was written to promote the author's erudition.

If you're looking for a general history of Paris, I'm sure there are many other options that are more readable.