Robert FossierCritiques

L'histoire de la Picardie, de la préhistoire jusqu'aux années 1980. Cette collection d'essais offre un aperçu général de l'histoire de cette région de France. Cependant, le manque de citations et une approche plutôt datée limitent son utilité.

odd historical work about medieval France

Skip this one. I very nearly didn't get beyond the preface, where the author writes "One last word: I have borrowed nearly everything from others, and I do not cite them." There are no citations at all, no bibliography, not even an essay on selected sources. I decided to read on, though ... and shouldn't have. No good from start to finish, and the last few lines are just about as bad as the first ("Simplistic for the erudite, confusing for the student, obscure for the non-reader? I don't know; I felt like saying all this, and that is enough"). GAH.

I bought this book based on the description and blurbs on the back. When I began to read it, I found something more like a philosophical examination of some kind of generic types than a description of "ordinary like in the Middle Ages". It was a total waste of money, in my opinion. I have other books that actually deserve the subtitle. This one does not, in my opinion, but there are obviously people who like this sort of thing.

M.1.3