I have always enjoyed learning about history. There is so much to learn from the past that can help us today.

Thomas Cahill is a prolific writer and student of history. In his Hinges of History series he recounts significant events in the formation of Western civilisation. To date the series includes five best-selling books. I have recently finished reading The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (1999) and Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus(2001). Cahill has an uncanny ability to take broad-ranging topics and times and condense them into readable portions written with a creativity that provokes further interest. As with any book, you need to "eat the meat and spit out the bones," but there are some good insights in his writings. 

Next I'll read How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe (1995).

If you are interested in church history, I heartily recommend Justo Gonzalez two-volume work The Story of Christianity. I read it a few years back and couldn't put it down. Baker Books has a new multi-volume series on church history that looks good too.

2 thoughts on “Hinges of History

  1. I loved “How the Irish Saved Civilization.” I wish it were required reading for lots of people. We know so little of our history.

  2. Hi,
    This is Vicky Silvers, Asst. Editor for Christian.com which is a social network made specifically for Christians, by Christians, to directly fulfill Christian’s needs. We embarked on this endeavor to offer the ENTIRE christian community an outlet to join together as one (no matter denomination) and better
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