The Awakening: A History of the Western Mind AD 500 - AD 1700

The Reopening of the Western Mind amounts to nothing less than a history of European ideas over the vast period AD 500 to AD 1700 – from the twilight of Antiquity to the dawn of the Enlightenment.

Charles Freeman traces the rebirth of European thought in the broadest possible sense, his agenda embracing political thought, philosophy and theology as well as art and literature. His account is informed by the latest scholarly thinking in all these areas, but manages to weave the many strands of Europe's intellectual development across the Medieval and Early Modern eras into a coherent and readable narrative that moves forward at a smart pace.

This is an ambitious but accessible history of the evolution of the modern world.