Joan of Arc: By Herself and Her Witnesses

This book rocks. The author, Regine Pernoud intertwines the dialog of Joan's condemnation trial with parts of the rehabilitation trial, and offers background and discussion of the events as they happen, from the people who lived during that time, beginning from Joan's childhood until even after the rehabilitation trial. At the end of each chapter, Pernoud gives a commentary that takes certain questions about unclear aspects of Joan's life and discusses them by giving textual evidence and reasoning through them. The result is a very comprehensive, non-fiction biography of Joan that states only the facts, and any speculation is based on facts as well. I think the way Pernoud arranged the book works very well, as I couldn't put the book down. I was amazed by this because I pretty much dislike most non-fiction books. This one is so comprehensive yet incredibly interesting as well. Even though it is non-fiction, you can tell the author was very passionate about what she was writing. As a result, the reader becomes excited as well. Anybody wants to learn about the true facts of Joan's life and the time she lived in should read this book. It'll definitely make you admire her even more.

Regine Pernoud is an expert on Joan of Arc, and makes you feel almost like YOU know her too. I laughed. I cried. The telling of the story from Joan's own words and the testimony of those who knew her puts this book on the top of my list. I liked it better than Pernoud's book, "Joan of Arc: Her Story," but it's not quite as comprehensive. Both are excellent books, but I rate this title a little higher. If you really want to feel like you walked with Joan, read Mark Twain's fictional diary, "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc," told from the point of view of her childhood friend-later-scribe. One of the greatest reads of my life! A Book that really changed my perspective on a lot of things.

People who don't study history at the university level rarely get to glimpse how professional historians work. Regine Pernoud offers a superb example here.Each chapter begins with a short essay describing the major debates about some aspect of Joan of Arc's life, followed by excerpts from original sources. Pernoud invites the reader to reach his or her own conclusions. The material is well chosen and Pernoud's overviews are balanced. The result is a truly challenging experience--about as close as the average person can come to meeting the real Joan of Arc.Only those who demand a straightforward narrative will find this approach disappointing. The available material does place a few limitations on the work. Only topics with ample original sources get coverage here, so readers will learn much more about Joan of Arc's trial than about her military career. Pernoud also chooses to paraphrase later historical interpretations, so readers won't encounter these controversies directly. These drawbacks are minor and probably unavoidable in a short work intended for a popular audience.This innovative little book may be the best single volume in history for the general reader.

I found this book at a used store in hardback and since I did not know much about her other than the school lessons I decided to give it a try. I guess by nature I am a skeptic, but in reading this book I feel very sure that St. Joan was empowered from God. I think the author did a wonderful job of just staying out of it. The book was well put together and free of his opinions on the matter, he let St. Joan speak. I was lucky enough to find an early edition in excellent shape and this has become my favorite non-fiction book. Give this a book a chance it will reward you in many ways.

This book by St. Joan's most celebrated Biographer, is a much more linear retelling of her story than the previous, but brilliant book by the same Author (with others) JOAN OF ARC: HER STORY. That book, is where you can end your research since it contains all the historical references you will ever need. THIS book, on the other hand is a paring down of Joan's life and story, keeping it's retelling to Joan's own words and those of the people who knew her. Strangely, although there are so many legends about Joan, much more is known about her and her actions via documents and church records than is really known about Jesus Christ or even Julias Caesar. That is to say, what we have heard about Joan can be tested against Historical duments, what we know about Jesus and Caesar really cannot since no one in their lifetime actually wrote much down. Such is not the Case with Joan. Oddly, much of her short life was documented even though it would be almost three hundred years before Joan Disciples would even go looking for that information. Joan of Arc was not celebrated as a Great Heroine of France until then. This book will give you a good introduction to her marvelous life. However, if your interest runs deeper and you can handle a much heavier book, look for other works by this author and you won't be disappointed.