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Book Cover for: How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe, Thomas Cahill

How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe

Thomas Cahill

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A book in the best tradition of popular history -- the untold story of Ireland's role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe. Every year millions of Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but they may not be aware of how great an influence St. Patrick was on the subsequent history of civilization. Not only did he bring Christianity to Ireland, he instilled a sense of literacy and learning that would create the conditions that allowed Ireland to become "the isle of saints and scholars" -- and thus preserve Western culture while Europe was being overrun by barbarians. In this entertaining and compelling narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved front the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization -- copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost -- they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task. As Cahill delightfully illustrates, so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent, it was from Ireland that they were germinated. In the tradition of Barbara Tuchmail's "A Distant Mirror, How The Irish Saved Civilization" reconstructs an era that few know about but which is central to understanding our past and our cultural heritage. But it conveys its knowledge with a winking wit that aptly captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilization.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Anchor Books
  • Publish Date: Feb 1st, 1996
  • Pages: 256
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.00in - 5.40in - 0.70in - 0.45lb
  • EAN: 9780385418492
  • Categories: • Europe - Ireland• Civilization

About the Author

THOMAS CAHILL's appealing approach to distant history won the attention of millions of readers in North America and beyond. Cahill is the author of six volumes in the Hinges of History series: How the Irish Saved Civilization, The Gifts of the Jews, Desire of the Everlasting Hills, Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Mysteries of the Middle Ages, and Heretics and Heroes. They have been bestsellers not only in the United States but also in countries ranging from Italy to Brazil. He is also the author of A Saint on Death Row. He died in 2022.

More books by Thomas Cahill

Book Cover for: The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels, Thomas Cahill
Book Cover for: Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Created Our World, Thomas Cahill
Book Cover for: Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter, Thomas Cahill
Book Cover for: Mysteries of the Middle Ages: And the Beginning of the Modern World, Thomas Cahill
Book Cover for: Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus, Thomas Cahill
Book Cover for: A Saint on Death Row: How a Forgotten Child Became a Man and Changed a World, Thomas Cahill

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Book reviews and recommendations đź“š Sign up for our weekly newsletter by visiting our site and clicking on 'Email Newsletter' (top left)! đź“–

Thomas Cahill, whose book HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILIZATION was a bookstore staple in the 1990s, has died. https://t.co/L6TKT7s0hd @doubledaybooks

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Driving essential conversation about how religion and beliefs shape us and our world.

Thomas Cahill, a scholar of ancient languages and belief systems with a knack for popular storytelling who engaged history readers with such bestsellers as “How the Irish Saved Civilization” and “Desire of the Everlasting Hills,” has died at age 82. https://t.co/wwpBbq9Fhp

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NYT Obituaries
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A portrait gallery of people who shaped the world.

Thomas Cahill’s book “How the Irish Saved Civilization” became a best seller and helped open the door to a new appreciation of that country’s culture. https://t.co/LkguT2FEbw

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Praise for this book

"Charming and poetic ... an entirely engaging, delectable voyage into the distant past, a small treasure." --The New York Times

"A lovely and engrossing tale ... Graceful and instructive." --Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times

"Cahill's lively prose breathes life into a 1,600-year-old history." --The Boston Globe

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