David M. Perry

A practical guide for scholars ready to write beyond the academy. Public scholarship should not be reserved for celebrity intellectuals or tenured faculty at elite institutions. It's designed for anyone who wants to share their academic work and engage with the public beyond the classroom or conference panel. In The Public Scholar, historian and journalist David M. Perry offers a clear, candid, and practical guide to writing for public audiences. Rather than debating whether academics should write for the public, Perry focuses on the practical details of how to approach public scholarship. How do you pitch a piece to an editor? What counts as evidence in a 900-word op-ed? When should you follow or ignore the rules of the genre? And what happens once your piece is out in the world? Covering the full life cycle of public writing, Perry walks readers through pitching, writing, editing, publishing, building a platform, and navigating the real-world risks and rewards that come with stepping into the public sphere. As the author of multiple best-selling books and over five hundred essays, Perry shares insights that are direct, hard-won, and refreshingly honest. He explains how public-facing work can support an academic career, how it can provide leverage for tenure and promotion, and, importantly, how it can also live outside traditional institutional paths. Perry's accessible approach invites scholars at all stages to consider what public engagement might look like in their own lives. Whether you're hoping to write for major newspapers, connect with communities beyond your discipline, or simply make your research more visible, The Public Scholar offers the right tools to help you get started.

“Fascinating.” — The Wall Street Journal“An enlightening portrait of the medieval mindset.” — Publishers WeeklyThe authors of The Bright Ages return with a “real-life Game of Thrones” (New York Times Book Review)—the story of the Carolingian Civil War, a bloody, protracted battle pitting brother against brother, father against son, that would end an empire, upend a continent, and redefine the future of Europe By the early ninth century, the Carolingian empire was at the height of its power. The Franks, led by Charlemagne, had built the largest European domain since Rome in its heyday. Though they jockeyed for power, prestige, and profit, the Frankish elites enjoyed political and cultural consensus. But just two generations later, their world was in shambles. Civil war, once an unthinkable threat, had erupted after Louis the Pious’s sons tried to overthrow him—and then placed their knives at the other’s neck. Families who had once charged into battle together now drew each other’s blood.The Carolingian Civil War would rage for years as kings fought kings, brother faced off against brother, and sons challenged fathers. Oathbreakers is the dramatic history of this brutal, turbulent time. Medieval historians David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele illuminate what happens when a once unshakeable political and cultural order breaks down and long suppressed tensions flare into deadly violence. Drawn from rich primary sources, featuring a wide cast of characters, packed with dramatic twists and turns, this is history that rivals the greatest fictional epics—with consequences that continue to shape our own world.Oathbreakers offers lessons of what deep cracks in a once-stable social and political fabric might reveal, and the bloody consequences of disagreeing on facts and reality. The Civil War at the heart of this tale asks: who is “in” and who is “out”? And what happens when things fall apart?

“Fascinating.” — The Wall Street Journal“An enlightening portrait of the medieval mindset.” — Publishers WeeklyThe authors of The Bright Ages return with a “real-life Game of Thrones” (New York Times Book Review)—the story of the Carolingian Civil War, a bloody, protracted battle pitting brother against brother, father against son, that would end an empire, upend a continent, and redefine the future of Europe By the early ninth century, the Carolingian empire was at the height of its power. The Franks, led by Charlemagne, had built the largest European domain since Rome in its heyday. Though they jockeyed for power, prestige, and profit, the Frankish elites enjoyed political and cultural consensus. But just two generations later, their world was in shambles. Civil war, once an unthinkable threat, had erupted after Louis the Pious’s sons tried to overthrow him—and then placed their knives at the other’s neck. Families who had once charged into battle together now drew each other’s blood.The Carolingian Civil War would rage for years as kings fought kings, brother faced off against brother, and sons challenged fathers. Oathbreakers is the dramatic history of this brutal, turbulent time. Medieval historians David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele illuminate what happens when a once unshakeable political and cultural order breaks down and long suppressed tensions flare into deadly violence. Drawn from rich primary sources, featuring a wide cast of characters, packed with dramatic twists and turns, this is history that rivals the greatest fictional epics—with consequences that continue to shape our own world.Oathbreakers offers lessons of what deep cracks in a once-stable social and political fabric might reveal, and the bloody consequences of disagreeing on facts and reality. The Civil War at the heart of this tale asks: who is “in” and who is “out”? And what happens when things fall apart?

"The beauty and levity that Perry and Gabriele have captured in this book are what I think will help it to become a standard text for general audiences for years to come….The Bright Ages is a rare thing—a nuanced historical work that almost anyone can enjoy reading.”—Slate"Incandescent and ultimately intoxicating." —The Boston GlobeA lively and magisterial popular history that refutes common misperceptions of the European Middle Ages, showing the beauty and communion that flourished alongside the dark brutality—a brilliant reflection of humanity itself.The word “medieval” conjures images of the “Dark Ages”—centuries of ignorance, superstition, stasis, savagery, and poor hygiene. But the myth of darkness obscures the truth; this was a remarkable period in human history. The Bright Ages recasts the European Middle Ages for what it was, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, bringing to light both its beauty and its horrors. The Bright Ages takes us through ten centuries and crisscrosses Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa, revisiting familiar people and events with new light cast upon them. We look with fresh eyes on the Fall of Rome, Charlemagne, the Vikings, the Crusades, and the Black Death, but also to the multi-religious experience of Iberia, the rise of Byzantium, and the genius of Hildegard and the power of queens. We begin under a blanket of golden stars constructed by an empress with Germanic, Roman, Spanish, Byzantine, and Christian bloodlines and end nearly 1,000 years later with the poet Dante—inspired by that same twinkling celestial canopy—writing an epic saga of heaven and hell that endures as a masterpiece of literature today. The Bright Ages reminds us just how permeable our manmade borders have always been and of what possible worlds the past has always made available to us. The Middle Ages may have been a world “lit only by fire” but it was one whose torches illuminated the magnificent rose windows of cathedrals, even as they stoked the pyres of accused heretics. The Bright Ages contains an 8-page color insert.

"The beauty and levity that Perry and Gabriele have captured in this book are what I think will help it to become a standard text for general audiences for years to come….The Bright Ages is a rare thing—a nuanced historical work that almost anyone can enjoy reading.”—Slate"Incandescent and ultimately intoxicating." —The Boston GlobeA lively and magisterial popular history that refutes common misperceptions of the European Middle Ages, showing the beauty and communion that flourished alongside the dark brutality—a brilliant reflection of humanity itself.The word “medieval” conjures images of the “Dark Ages”—centuries of ignorance, superstition, stasis, savagery, and poor hygiene. But the myth of darkness obscures the truth; this was a remarkable period in human history. The Bright Ages recasts the European Middle Ages for what it was, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, bringing to light both its beauty and its horrors. The Bright Ages takes us through ten centuries and crisscrosses Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa, revisiting familiar people and events with new light cast upon them. We look with fresh eyes on the Fall of Rome, Charlemagne, the Vikings, the Crusades, and the Black Death, but also to the multi-religious experience of Iberia, the rise of Byzantium, and the genius of Hildegard and the power of queens. We begin under a blanket of golden stars constructed by an empress with Germanic, Roman, Spanish, Byzantine, and Christian bloodlines and end nearly 1,000 years later with the poet Dante—inspired by that same twinkling celestial canopy—writing an epic saga of heaven and hell that endures as a masterpiece of literature today. The Bright Ages reminds us just how permeable our manmade borders have always been and of what possible worlds the past has always made available to us. The Middle Ages may have been a world “lit only by fire” but it was one whose torches illuminated the magnificent rose windows of cathedrals, even as they stoked the pyres of accused heretics. The Bright Ages contains an 8-page color insert.

In Sacred Plunder, David Perry argues that plundered relics, and narratives about them, played a central role in shaping the memorial legacy of the Fourth Crusade and the development of Venice’s civic identity in the thirteenth century. After the Fourth Crusade ended in 1204, the disputes over the memory and meaning of the conquest began. Many crusaders faced accusations of impiety, sacrilege, violence, and theft. In their own defense, they produced hagiographical narratives about the movement of relics—a medieval genre called translatio—that restated their own versions of events and shaped the memory of the crusade. The recipients of relics commissioned these unique texts in order to exempt both the objects and the people involved with their theft from broader scrutiny or criticism. Perry further demonstrates how these narratives became a focal point for cultural transformation and an argument for the creation of the new Venetian empire as the city moved from an era of mercantile expansion to one of imperial conquest in the thirteenth century.

"..and the Qur'an says: " This is an easy to read guide that gives a synopsis of the basis of Faith for many of your Muslim friends, neighbors, and co-workers........ and I think this to be a pre-requisite in the 21st Century, with the current expansion of Radical Islam. About this Book ..... Although I am a proponent of more effective Bible reading, and have written other books to encourage others to more frequently read the Holy Bible, I had read the entire translated Qur'an thoroughly. One Sunday in May of 2010, I thought: "My grandson who was just finishing his First Year at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point Military Academy, may later face an Islamic foe after graduation." Having read the Holy Qur'an earlier, and believing how important having some knowledge of this foe might be, I was prompted to summarize for him and others in the Military, a Christian's perspective of the Holy Qur'an Realizing that all those with Islamic Faith are not foes, I am also sure this will benefit a Christian's relationship with their Muslim neighbors, associates at work, and business owners with Islamic Faith. This book is not intended to stimulate your interest in the religion of Islam, or to suggest you consider spending several months reading the Qur'an. It is intended to provide the reader with an overall view of the message of the Holy Qur'an, as it was intended for Arabics, and is now accepted by most Arabic and non-Arabic Muslims in the United States. Today, with the growth of the Muslim Religion in the World, it is my intention that whether you are Christian or not, through this book, you can quickly know what the Qur'an says, in order that you have a correct understanding of the religion of your Muslim neighbor or co-worker who follows these teachings of Muhammed. " When you think of God, He smiles " Rev David M Perry

In Sacred Plunder, David Perry argues that plundered relics, and narratives about them, played a central role in shaping the memorial legacy of the Fourth Crusade and the development of Venice's civic identity in the thirteenth century. After the Fourth Crusade ended in 1204, the disputes over the memory and meaning of the conquest began. Many crusaders faced accusations of impiety, sacrilege, violence, and theft. In their own defense, they produced hagiographical narratives about the movement of relics-a medieval genre called translatio-that restated their own versions of events and shaped the memory of the crusade. The recipients of relics commissioned these unique texts in order to exempt both the objects and the people involved with their theft from broader scrutiny or criticism. Perry further demonstrates how these narratives became a focal point for cultural transformation and an argument for the creation of the new Venetian empire as the city moved from an era of mercantile expansion to one of imperial conquest in the thirteenth century.

Book #2 in the Effective Bible Reading Series. Included is what may be the VERY BEST Bible Daily Reading Plan available anywhere. Around the World, most people believe there is a "Higher Power", although many do not really understand much about Him. Throughout history, however, numerous events have been recorded that provide much knowledge about this " Higher Power ", leading many to recognize this Almighty God, who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Moses, Kings David and Solomon, of Peter, James, and John, of Christopher Columbus, and the Pilgrims, of Generals George Washington and George Patton, and of many World Leaders and celebrities of today. I believe that by reading the Holy Bible more effectively, you will greatly increase your understanding, and you will recognize Almighty God as being that " Higher Power ", and that understanding, will actually change your life. It is our objective to stimulate the reader to seek more knowledge of the Truth, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, have a better understanding of God's Word, through this Holy Bible teaching Guide and daily reading plan