Problems in European civilization

The first edition of The Thirty Years' War offered an unrivalled survey of a central period in European history. Drawing on a huge body of source material from different languages and countries throughout Europe, it provided a clear and comprehensive narrative and analytical account of the subject. It has established itself as the classic text with reviewers, students and the general reader. This second edition has been thoroughly revised to include the very latest research. The updated bibliographical information provides an invaluable resource, synthesising the major work in the field, in all languages, up to 1996. The book covers the horrors of the war and the contorted politics of the period. It deals with all the major figures, including Wallerstein and Richelieu, Gustavus Adolphus and Tilly, the Winter King and the Habsburg emperors. For range and depth of coverage there is no other work like it. It has become the definitive book on the subject.

Among the historical questions that have been posed through the ages, none has attracted more attention over a longer period of time than the one that asks, Why did the Roman Empire in the West collapse? The selections in part 1 attempt to define the problem. Part 2 offers a selection of some of the explanations given for Rome's decay and collapse. The theme of part 3 is that the Roman Empire never fell at all, but metamorphosed into something else. - Introduction.

"Prince Metternich was a celebrated diplomat and statesman. Throughout his glittering and successful career he sought to counter the forces unleashed by the French Revolution. He was an enemy of change, despised by republicans and feared by radicals. Metternich used his skill for diplomacy to create alliances in order to reverse republicanism and restore the legitimate monarchies of Europe to their thrones."--Back Cover.