Summary The World Illuminated Only by Fire, written by William Manchester, is a book based on the Middle Ages. Early in the book, Manchester writes: “Was the medieval world a civilization comparable to that of Rome before it or to the modern era that followed? If by civilization we mean a society that has reached a relatively high level of cultural and technological development, the answer is no” (15). The author's opinion is clear; he does not believe that the Middle Ages ever achieved the title of civilization. To consolidate his thesis, the author explains what life was like in those times, how major events developed and how important roles occupied history during the Middle Ages. In the beginning, there was no form of time tracking; clocks did not exist at that time. The specific dates during this age are still up for debate. The major events that have occurred for which the dates are approximately known are the long-term events. Examples of these events are: frequent famines and the bubonic plague (black death) epidemic. At that time there were no known cities but only villages and they were distant from each other. The journey was expensive, difficult and dangerous. Thieves were everywhere, especially in the forests, and when a single person came across their path, they took everything and brutally injured him. A well-known one of these thieves is Robin Hood. This era was a superstition. The population believed in everything. The population believed that everything inexplicable was the work of witchcraft and sorcery. People during this period were small, usually around the five-foot mark. Anyone who managed to reach six feet tall was considered a giant and was tortured. The Roman Catholic Church ruled in the Middle Ages. The whole political world... in the center of the card... living the world was spherical. Ferdinand proved the Church wrong and in doing so weakened faith in God and opened the world to logic. The development that began after the heavy Middle Ages is what interested me the most. It was called the Medieval Renaissance because such a complete change occurred during that era. Science took shape in the world and the medieval age began to transform into what the world is now. This ties into the story's central theme of evolution or change for the better. Almost nothing in this period relates to the current world because of this renaissance. The medieval lifestyle back then was horrible, but no matter how difficult life becomes today, it can never go back to what the medieval times were like. With everything I learned about the medieval age by reading this book; I want to learn even more through my world history course.