The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century    by Ian Mortimer Order:  USA  Can Touchstone, 2009 (2009) Hardcover Read an Excerpt    Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto The concept behind Ian Mortimer's The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century is great, but the execution falls short of what the title implies. While the chapter divisions are indeed what you would find in a good travel guide, the information contained is that of a typical history book. Mortimer goes into great detail about life in Medieval England, and he does try to put the reader into history by using the second person, which is very commendable, but this does not read like a visitor's handbook. While you will find information about what to wear and where to go and how to get there, it is not presented in the more exciting, anticipatory style of a typical travel guide. Instead, the big blocks of text do nothing to make the reader actually want to visit Medieval England, which is part of the purpose of any travel guide. Also, visitor's handbooks are often filled with pictures, and while there are quite a few contained in The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England, they are all within two center sections instead of sprinkled throughout the text, which would have livened up the reading somewhat. While Ian Mortimer does provide information on aspects of medieval life not usually found in most history books, The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England just does not meet its title's promise. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more NonFiction books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews