Renaissance Lives

Rabb picked a great selection of people to write about in this book and presents them all in such a way -- erudite, smart -- that changes in European society are detailed very well. This great book gives in-depth information about these people who characterize aspects of the changing Renaissance society & gives a very workable outline of major changes that happened among the people throughout the Renaissance centuries, from Petrarch who lived through the 1256 Plague to 17th Century poet & academic John Milton. He uses letters from the people & incidents from their lives that tell more not only about who they were as people but also describe changes in the society that he uses these people as a portal to.

Renaissance Lives: Portraits of an Age by Theodore K Rabb. This nicely done book, based on the PBS Series, is an excellent reference for the understanding the important people during the renaissance. It gives the reader a clear picture of the famous folk (and some not so famous) that an educated person living during the sixteenth century would be familiar with. Renaissance Lives: Portraits of an Age gives a synopsis of the lives of 15 men and women from Galileo Galilee to a merchant named Gluckel of Hameln. Covering England and Western Europe, the living history aficionado is provided with yet another great aid for the performance of their art.