content: A World Lit Only by Fire, is a succinct, fast paced history of Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire and concluding with Magellan's famous voyage around the world. The life styles, politics and religions of Europeans of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Luther's Reformation come to life as Manchester skillfully draws a clear, literary picture in slightly less than 300 pages. This is a fast read and recommended for anyone interest (or even slightly curious) about the conditions in which people worked and lived during these periods.