MEDIEVAL EUROPE

Wickham's survey of European history from 400 CE to 1500 CE is dense and abstract, assuming both a wide and detailed familiarity with the period. Derek Perkins's narration of the audiobook's often complex sentences uses tone, pauses, and emphasis to elucidate their meaning. Still, both those sentences and the arguments they convey require close attention. He has a fine voice, and his reading is articulate, intelligent, and unaffected. He has the gift of making texts seem like his own work, which he's narrating to, or simply telling, the listener. Each sentence benefits from his relaxed yet polished clarity; by his interpretation, he lends the listener his own perspicacity. Nonetheless, it's easy to become lost. This difficult listen will best repay only highly knowledgeable listeners. W.M. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2017]