content: Manchester has obviously infuriated 'history buffs,' who have learned all they know of the age from "The Princess Bride" and suburban Renaissance Fairs, by pointing out in a popular format what most students of history already knew: Medieval and Renaissance Europe and England were filthy, disease-ridden places with little food and a continental chasm between the very few wealthy and huge masses of the incredibly poor.It was not the elogant age many like to imagine, but it did set the stage for all that was to come after.Manchester is a fine writer and this is a fine book.