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The Hinges of HistorySeries

This series delves into the pivotal moments of human history, moving beyond a simple chronicle of disasters and conflicts. It uncovers narratives of unexpected kindness, sacrifice, and compassion that have shaped the course of civilization. Each installment offers a profound look at unique events where humanity shone through even in the darkest of times. It's a celebration of improbable acts of goodness that demonstrate hope persists even in the direst circumstances.

The Gifts of the Jews
Desire of the Everlasting Hills
Mysteries of the Middle Ages
Sailing the wine-dark sea : why the Greeks matter
How the Irish saved civilization

Recommended Reading Order

  1. 1

    How the Irish saved civilization

    • 246 pages
    • 9 hours of reading
    3.8(44088)Add rating

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER • This captivating narrative reveals Ireland's crucial role in preserving Western culture during the Dark Ages. While millions celebrate St. Patrick's Day, few recognize his profound influence on civilization's history. Beyond introducing Christianity to Ireland, he fostered literacy and learning, transforming the nation into "the isle of saints and scholars" and safeguarding Western culture amid barbarian invasions. The author narrates the evolution of Europe from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era, emphasizing that without Ireland, this transition would have been impossible. Irish monks and scribes meticulously copied manuscripts of both pagan and Christian texts, preserving the essence of Western civilization while libraries on the continent vanished. Their unique Irish perspective enriched the cultural landscape, contributing to the vibrancy associated with medieval culture. As culture was reintroduced to Europe, it was Ireland that nurtured its growth. In the spirit of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, this book reconstructs a pivotal yet overlooked era, essential for understanding our cultural heritage, all while delivering its insights with a playful wit that embodies the spirit of the unsung Irish who revitalized civilization.

    How the Irish saved civilization
  2. 2

    The Gifts of the Jews

    • 304 pages
    • 11 hours of reading
    3.8(639)Add rating

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The author of the runaway bestseller How the Irish Saved Civilization takes us on another "captivating...persuasive as well as entertaining" journey into history (The New York Times), recreating a time when the actions of a small band of people had repercussions that are still felt today. The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endless cycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinning ceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see time differently. For them, time had a beginning and an end; it was a narrative, whose triumphant conclusion would come in the future. From this insight came a new conception of men and women as individuals with unique destinies--a conception that would inform the Declaration of Independence--and our hopeful belief in progress and the sense that tomorrow can be better than today. As Thomas Cahill narrates this momentous shift, he also explains the real significance of such Biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Pharaoh, Joshua, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Full of compelling stories, insights and humor, The Gifts of the Jews is an irresistible exploration of history as fascinating and fun as How the Irish Saved Civilization.

    The Gifts of the Jews
  3. 3

    Desire of the Everlasting Hills

    • 368 pages
    • 13 hours of reading
    4.0(2360)Add rating

    From the bestselling author of How the Irish Saved Civilization and The Gifts of the Jews, his most compelling historical narrative yet. How did an obscure rabbi from a backwater of the Roman Empire come to be the central figure in Western Civilization? Did his influence in fact change the world? These are the questions Thomas Cahill addresses in his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus. Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time—a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under overlords who imposed their worldview on their subjects. Here is Jesus the loving friend, itinerate preacher, and quiet revolutionary, whose words and actions inspired his followers to journey throughout the Roman world and speak the truth he instilled—in the face of the greatest defeat: Jesus' crucifixion as a common criminal. Daring, provocative, and stunningly original, Cahill's interpretation will both delight and surprise.

    Desire of the Everlasting Hills
  4. 4

    Sailing the wine-dark sea : why the Greeks matter

    • 352 pages
    • 13 hours of reading
    3.8(2941)Add rating

    In Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, his fourth volume to explore "the hinges of history," Thomas Cahill escorts the reader on another entertaining—and historically unassailable—journey through the landmarks of art and bloodshed that defined Greek culture nearly three millennia ago.In the city-states of Athens and Sparta and throughout the Greek islands, honors could be won in making love and war, and lives were rife with contradictions. By developing the alphabet, the Greeks empowered the reader, demystified experience, and opened the way for civil discussion and experimentation—yet they kept slaves. The glorious verses of the Iliad recount a conflict in which rage and outrage spur men to action and suggest that their "bellicose society of gleaming metals and rattling weapons" is not so very distant from more recent campaigns of "shock and awe." And, centuries before Zorba, Greece was a land where music, dance, and freely flowing wine were essential to the high life. Granting equal time to the sacred and the profane, Cahill rivets our attention to the legacies of an ancient and enduring worldview.

    Sailing the wine-dark sea : why the Greeks matter
  5. 5

    Mysteries of the Middle Ages

    • 368 pages
    • 13 hours of reading
    3.7(281)Add rating

    A new volume in the author's acclaimed Hinges of History series examines the rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science following the Dark Ages, vividly capturing the spirit of experimentation, pageantry, and pursuit of knowledge that transformed medieval Europe and set the stage for the modern world. Reprint. 75,000 first printing.

    Mysteries of the Middle Ages