Last Apocalpyse - Hardcover

Reston Jr., James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385483260 ISBN 13: 9780385483261

Publisher: Doubleday, 1998

Synopsis

Enter the world of 1000 A.D., when Vikings, Moors, and barbarians battled kings and popes for the fate of Europe.

As the millennium approached, Europeans feared the world would end.  The old order was crumbling, and terrifying and confusing new ideas were gaining hold in the populace.  Random and horrific violence seemed to sprout everywhere without warning, and without apparent remedy.  And, in fact, when the millennium arrived the apocalypse did take place; a world did end, and a new world arose from the ruins.

In 950, Ireland, England, and France were helpless against the ravages of the seagoing Vikings; the fierce and strange Hungarian Magyars laid waste to Germany and Italy; the legions of the Moors ruled Spain and threatened the remnants of Charlemagne's vast domain.  The papacy was corrupt and decadent, overshadowed by glorious Byzantium.  Yet a mere fifty years later, the gods of the Vikings were dethroned, the shamans of the Magyars were massacred, the magnificent Moorish caliphate disintegrated: The sign of the cross held sway from Spain in the West to Russia in the East.

James Reston, Jr.'s enthralling saga of how the Christian kingdoms converted, conquered, and slaughtered their way to dominance brings to life unforgettable historical characters who embodied the struggle for the soul of Europe.  From the righteous fury of the Viking queen Sigrid the Strong-Minded, who burned unwanted suitors alive; to the brilliant but too-cunning Moor Al-Mansor the Illustrious Victor; to the aptly named English king Ethelred the Unready; to the abiding genius of the age, Pope Sylvester II--warrior-kings and concubine empresses, maniacal warriors and religious zealots, bring this stirring period to life.

The Last Apocalypse is a book rich in personal historical detail, flavored with the nearly magical sensibility of an apocalyptic age.
James Reston, Jr., is the author of ten previous books, including Galileo: A Life and Sherman's March and Vietnam.  He has written for The New Yorker, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Time, Rolling Stone, and many other publications.  His television work includes three "Frontline" documentaries, including "Eighty-Eight Seconds in Greensboro." The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars provided him with a Visiting Fellowship during the course of his work on this book.  Reston lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

About this title

Review:

With the turn of the century approaching, talk of the apocalypse runs rampant. In The Last Apocalypse, James Reston reminds us that such talk is nothing new. At the previous turn of the millennium, Vikings, Moors, and Hungarian Magyars beseiged Europe with wanton cruelty and violence, spreading fear and destruction wherever they went and leading many to believe that the end of the world was near. Such colorful characters as Sigrid the Haughty, Svein Forkbeard, Ethelred the Unready, and Al-Mansor the Illustrious Victor were the heroes and villains of the era.

Reston, author of previous works that include Galileo: A Life and Sherman's March, evokes the historical essence of the time using limited legal and church documents, archaeological artifacts, and rare contemporary literary accounts. Reston's history reads like an engrossing novel, carefully crafted without getting bogged down in dry details. He skillfully interweaves the complex story of how each European country dealt with these changes, bringing the period back to life.

Reston portrays A.D. 999 as a profound turning point for mankind, mapping out the fate of each country as the Christian kingdoms, unified in belief, brutally conquered and imposed the will of Christianity upon heathen Europe. In the space of 60 years, the established ruling elite were slaughtered or forced to succumb to the turning religious tide. By A.D. 1050, the sign of the cross fell like an ominous shadow across Europe, paradoxically signifying the dawn of peace under Christian unity.

From the Publisher:

Praise for James Reston, Jr.'s Galileo: A Life

"It is to James Reston's credit that his masterful new biography of Galileo Galilei manages to capture the cultural maelstrom of the Renaissance as colorfully as it does, without making his subject seem too much like some time-traveling hero from a more sensible age. In fact, it is the triumph of the book that Reston himself is able to offer a convincing imitation of a Renaissance man...a brilliant biography."
--Bruno Maddox, Washington Post Book World

A spirited evocation of Galileo's charisma and capacity...fresh, sinewy and altogether admirable."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"A spellbinding story and a vivid, provocative portrait of a Galileo we have not seen before. James Reston, Jr., throws important new light on Galileo's vital place in the history of world politics, science and religion. For younger readers, his book is a splendid introduction; those who thought they understood Galileo will be startled to find out how little they knew."
--Michael R. Beschloss

About this edition

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0385483260
• ISBN 13: 9780385483261
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320