"Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West"
Georges Duby
$24.95 paper; 632 pages
"Georges Duby's treatise and source book of Western agriculture is one of the most important, imaginative, solidly documented, well- written books of medieval history that I have ever read. ... Duby's work deserves to be pronounced a masterpiece, because it offers a unique combination of synthetic power and analytic perception, of bold judgment and Cartesian doubt, of hard economic facts and subtle psychological considerations."
So wrote the reviewer for Speculum when Duby's innovative work on the history of the medieval economy was first published in 1961. George Duby was one of the foremost medievalists and historians of this century and it is only fitting that the University of Pennsylvania Press, which specializes in medieval history, should now bring this classic back into print.
The publication of "Rural Economy" underscores a small, but important function of the University Press: reprinting deserving books at an affordable price for general readership and the scholarly community. With more than 60,000 books published each year in the United States and with an equally large number of titles placed out of print, many titles that may still be of great value are no longer available to the public.
It is up to publishers, such as the University of Pennsylvania Press, whose mission includes a commitment to intellectual life, to discover and reintroduce meritorious books. The Press actively seeks out important books that are no longer in print and would be delighted to entertain suggestions from the University at large. Please drop us a line at our offices on 4200 Pine Street.
-University of Pennsylvania Press
