Bonnie S. Anderson and Judith P. Zinsser, A History of Their Own (2000). An overview of European women’s history by two prominent scholars.

Edward Grant, Science and Religion from Aristotle to Copernicus (2004). Demonstrates the impact of Greek philosophy and science in Europe, with comparisons to Byzantium and the Islamic world.

Barbara A. Hanawalt, The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History (1999). A brief and beautifully illustrated introduction to the Middle Ages in European history.

Rowena Loverance, Byzantium (2004). A lavishly illustrated history of the Byzantine Empire, drawing on the rich collection of artifacts in the British Museum.

Diarmaid MacCulloch, Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years (2010). A recent and much-praised overview of the history of Christendom.

Christopher Tyerman, Fighting for Christendom: Holy Wars and the Crusades (2005). A very well-written, up-to-date history of the Crusades designed for nonspecialists.

“Byzantine Empire,” http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/byzantine-empire. A History channel Web site that features a number of short, thoughtful videos about Byzantium.

“Middle Ages,” http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/. An interactive Web site with text and images relating to life in Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire.