Mont-Saint Michel and Chartres

Henry Adams' MONT-SAINT MICHEL AND CHARTRES intellectual history at its best, dealing with complex ideas in an attractive and lucid literary style. Adams' insights are impressive as he delves into complex topics such as Gothic Architecture, Medieval poetry and mysticsim, and Scholastic Philosophy with clarity and ease. . Adams's translations of Medieval French and Latin are good, giving those who are not familiar with these languages a better understanding of the poetry. The last section of the book deals with the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). Adams careful treatment of Aquinas' thought is worth the price of the book. Adams gives the Angelic Doctor high praise for both his clear thinking and liberality. Adams also effectively deals with the liberality of the Medieval Catholic authorities who canonized so many men whose views were apparently contradictory.