
The Verge
Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years That Shook the World
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $25.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Patrick Wyman
-
By:
-
Patrick Wyman
The creator of the hit podcast series Tides of History and Fall of Rome explores the four explosive decades between 1490 and 1530, bringing to life the dramatic and deeply human story of how the West was reborn.
In the best-selling tradition of The Swerve and A Distant Mirror, The Verge tells the story of a period that marked a decisive turning point for both European and world history. Here, author Patrick Wyman examines two complementary and contradictory sides of the same historical coin: the world-altering implications of the developments of printed mass media, extreme taxation, exploitative globalization, humanistic learning, gunpowder warfare, and mass religious conflict in the long term, and their intensely disruptive consequences in the short-term.
As told through the lives of 10 real people - from famous figures like Christopher Columbus and wealthy banker Jakob Fugger to a ruthless small-time merchant and a one-armed mercenary captain - The Verge illustrates how their lives, and the times in which they lived, set the stage for an unprecedented globalized future.
Over an intense 40-year period, the seeds for the so-called "Great Divergence" between Western Europe and the rest of the globe would be planted. From Columbus' voyage across the Atlantic to Martin Luther's sparking the Protestant Reformation, the foundations of our own, recognizably modern world came into being.
For the past 500 years, historians, economists, and the policy-oriented have argued which of these individual developments best explains the West's rise from backwater periphery to global dominance. As The Verge presents it, however, the answer is far more nuanced.
©2021 Patrick Wyman (P)2021 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















People who viewed this also viewed...


















Really wonderful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fantastic into Early Modern History!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
excellent book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
History is so riveting when approached as Wyman does. One caveat not a criticism: the beginning note on currency is no reflection of the rest of the book so do not be discouraged.
How History Should be taught in schools
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wow
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Patrick has a way of making the past come alive by interspersing historical facts and details into a captivating narrative format. While this book goes deeper than most of the podcast episodes, it is every bit as entertaining. The audiobook version is also a great way to consume this content, as Patrick has a very clear and engaging voice.
It's rare to find a work like this that is as creative and fun to listen to as it is well-researched and nuanced. I can't wait to read and listen to whatever Patrick produces next. If you're on the fence about this book, don't think twice - you won't regret it.
A Refreshing Take on a Pivotal Period of History
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
One of my favorite historians
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book. I really enjoyed it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.