Edward Garboczi
Tag: Book Review
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It is perhaps not so profound to say this but nevertheless, it is true: people are people. What I mean is that basic human nature has not changed since the fall of Adam and Eve. Throughout history, people have always been real people, acting and thinking and feeling the same as we do. They had the same basic needs and desires, they had families to care for, they created art and handicrafts and inventions, they grew food, and they made things like clothing and weapons and tools. Also, all people start out as babies, then become toddlers, then children, then juniors, then teenagers, and finally adults. In short, they grow up, if they live that long, and that process does vary a bit from age to age.
Two books by Alfred Duggan are Growing Up With the Norman Conquest and Growing Up in 13th Century England. Both books pick out a particular place in time and space in England and describe what growing up from childhood to adulthood was like. The Norman Conquest took place in 1066 AD, so the first book covers around the 1100s, which was an interesting time, as the Norman French conquerors integrated with the Anglo-Saxon natives.
The other book’s time and place are obvious from the title – 13th century England or around the 1200s. By this time the integration of conqueror and conquered was mainly finished, and there had been some progress in the technology of ordinary life. The reading level of these two books is probably upper middle school, and they can be read straight through or used as references for a report. A nice feature of these books is that they are beautifully illustrated by C. Walter Hodges, a famous illustrator and writer. I encourage you to look for other books written and/or illustrated by him in your library.
As I said before, people throughout history have built, carved, woven, constructed, and manufactured objects to be used and to beautify. Made in the Middle Ages (1000 to 1400 AD) and Made in the Renaissance (1400 to1600 AD), by Christine Price, tell the story of what people made in these two time periods. You will recognize the general type of many manufactured items but some should be a bit unfamiliar. The history of various materials used by people goes along with this story, but that is outside this review. These books cover a wider time period and geographic extent than do the “Growing Up” books. I would say these “Made” books might be better used as reference books for a school report, at the upper middle school level, rather than books to be read straight through. However, if they stimulate an interest in manufacturing and materials, by reading them in their entirety, the future United States economy could sure use people like that!