Officially my new favourite history book: I'm in love with Frances and Joseph Gies showing off the technology and technological development of the Middle Ages. The book is dense and doesn't coddle the reader, and, as many of their works, is often on recommended reading lists for history courses. In good medievalist tradition, they oppose Gibbon's view of medieval society as “the triumph of barbarism and religion”, and they bring tons of evidence to the table, combing through one thousand years of the Middle Ages. It's fascinating and well-written. I finished this book and immediately wanted to read more of the same (and was very disappointed when I couldn't find anything like it)!