A very succinct look at human technical ingenuity, from the 6th to 16th centuries. For readers who have read their previous Life in a Medieval... series, there is some overlap. However, this book covers those topics in only passing detail. I'd still recommend those other books for more detailed information on cities, castles, and villages.

I found the information on all of the technology that came from China and India quite fascinating, as well as similar technology that was developed independently of each other's. There is also some interesting discussion as to what allowed China to take an initial technological lead, but why Europe eventually surpassed it.

If I have one gripe, it's that there weren't enough pictures to back up the items and descriptions of what they were talking about. That would've made the book longer, and potentially more expensive, but it would've helped. In 2018 it's not a huge problem because of the internet, but it would've been more of an issue back in 1994 when it was originally published.

Still, it's an informative read and probably the best of their books that I've read. I highly recommend it, along with their others.