Not up to the standard of Cantor's other books. Lack of focus. Scattered errors. Enough to shake me from my enjoyment of the book and make me doubt many of his statements and conclusions.* Unlikely claims, such as this: French crossbowman at Crecy took half an hour to reload, with an assistant.* Strained connections, such as this: The brutal murder of Edward II "reflected the general malaise, anger, and pessimism of the new age of global cooling."* Incomplete thoughts, such as this: "There was a sharp dividing line between the landholding wealthier peasants, who experienced a cyclic boom and bust in their lifetime -- sometimes eating well on something approaching a gentry diet and at other times struggling to fill their stomachs with just about any cereal or scraps of cheap meat they could find."* Obvious errors, such as labelling an etching as "fourteenth century," when the style, detail, and perspective make it look at least 200 years older.