I got this book out of the library as an audio to listen to in the car. A couple weeks ago, one day when I wasn't feeling well, I wound up binge watching this excellent BBC series called Secrets of the Castle. I highly recommend watching it. Three academics go to a site in France where they are building a castle using the same techniques from the 12th century. Very cool. Even though I am not mechanically minded at all, I found it fascinating to see how they lived back then and how they came up with ways to build such awesome, enormous structures like castles. A day or two later I was in the library looking for something to listen to while I drive all over kingdom come. It's so boring to be a chauffeur (for my teens)! When I saw this book, I thought aha! It looked like it is along the same lines as Secrets of the Castle.
Well, it was. It is a well written account of Fillipo Brunelleschi's building of the dome of the great cathedral of Florence. It gives great glimpses of his character, that of his rivals, and how Florentine Renaissance society worked. Fascinating stuff! This kind of book though isn't really a good one to listen to because so much of it is visual. I really missed seeing diagrams of what Brunelleschi was designing, etc. I found myself googling images of ox-hoists and the like. Also, because I was busy driving while listening sometimes I'd get distracted for a minute or two and I wouldn't be follow what was being said. It really is a kind of book that deserves attention to detail.
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| A model of an ox-hoist. |
Even though the narrator had a very proper British accent, it grated on my nerves because he read so very dryly and in almost a condescending tone, which I found hard to listen to for long chunks of time. Usually, I love British readers, but this voice, not so much.
A worthwhile book! For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
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