Threading her way through one of the most complex and fraught eras of european history, wedgwood gives all who have followed her an object lesson in. Europes tragedy is a history of prodigious erudition that manages to corral the byzantine complexity of the thirty years war into a coherent narrative. The thirty years war was a very confusing conflict on many levels, and to attempt any account of it in barely 200 pages is almost foolhardy. The complex peace agreement that ended it, the treaty of westphalia, is still credited with establishing our modern state system. Historical fiction 1600 1700, books on the thirty years war 16181648, and war widows. Classical greece roman republic hellenistic period roman empire early christianity.
It also was a political war between the hapsburgs and the bourbons, and as such it was a european war fought primarily on german soil. List of books and articles about thirty years war 16181648. The war of the mantuan succession 162831 was a peripheral part of the thirty years war. The book is based on the authors firsthand experience. Fighting resumed in 1621 and formed a part of the general thirty years war. Nov 12, 2016 hello and welcome to feature history, featuring religious conflict, tragic war, and a really nifty collaboration with jabzy.
It is a very successful attempt to cover the complexity of those thirty years and shows a remarkable grasp of detail and a searching analysis of the major issues involved. Historical romance where the heroine or hero is widowed by war. Thirty years ago, however, he wrote, the retraction of soviet power from its present bloated and unhealthy limits is essential to the stability of world relationships. Jun 27, 2011 thirty years from now, for better or worse, the world will be a far different place. Brothers francesco iv 1612, ferdinando 161226 and vincenzo ii 162627, the last three dukes of mantua from the direct line, had all died. The thirty years war was a 17thcentury religious conflict fought primarily in central europe.
Europe in 1618 was riven between protestants and catholics, bourbon and hapsburgas well as empires, kingdoms, and countless principalities. Controversial topics criminal justice economics and business education history law literature. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A deadly continental struggle, the thirty years war devastated seventeenthcentury europe, killing nearly a quarter of all germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. The thirty years war was a war fought primarily in central europe between 1618 and 1648. The books below were published at least 50 years ago so nothing after 1967.
Wilson discusses specifically what is meant by the term mercenary in the context of the thirty years war. Despite its age first published in 1938, this is still one of the best english language narratives of this most complex of wars, tracing the intricate dance of diplomacy and combat that involved all of europe in the fate of germany. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Written for a wider audience than revolt, it is a vivid history, colored by schillers own interest in the question of human freedom and his rationalist optimism. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. This war may not have been the most impactful one in european history, but if one is going to study premodern europe, this book is an essential inclusion.
Its casus belli was the extinction of the direct male line of the house of gonzaga in december 1627. The series of protracted religiousdynastic wars that afflicted the holy roman empire and most western european states from 1618 to 1648. It was in part a political war among shifting alliances of the various states of germanspeaking peoples. The thirty years war edited by geoffrey parker is much shorter than the wilson text, but worth checking out.
The thirty years war 161848 is a central episode in early modern history. Best books on the thirty years war five books expert. Peter wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world. Wedgwood, a distinguished historian of the inter war years. The thirty years war 16181648 may have been the most destructive european conflict prior to the 20th century. Nov 22, 2017 here is a list of classics in translation from around the world, written in languages other than english, that have something to teach us about our fellow human beings. But this book succeeds, at least in setting the stage and following the people and politics. From the introduction by anthony grafton this is a masterful narrative, written by one of the great exponents of that alltoorare skill. Yet these landmark studies span 2,500 years of history, appear in a myriad of languages, and reference thousands of conflicts, and thus require brief, analytical introductions by contemporary military historians to guide the. The thirty years war had complex and diverse origins but religion was perhaps the most important, and religious motivation was an integral part of the political, economic, and dynastic policies that formed and reshaped the course of. Oct 12, 2003 from don quixote to american pastoral, take a look at the 100 greatest novels of all time the 100 greatest nonfiction books the 2015 version of the 100 best novels. Wedgwood a descendent of the potter who founded the wedgwood company. After angry protestants tossed three representatives of the holy roman empire out the window of the royal castle in prague, world war spread from bohemia with relentless abandon, drawing powers from spain to sweden into a nightmarish world of famine. For more than seventy years, penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the englishspeaking world.
Books on the thirty years war 16181648 score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Dec 15, 2010 the thirty years war 161848 was the most destructive european conflict prior to the twentieth century. With more than 1,700 titles, penguin classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. The book also encapsulates so much about why the war is so complex. The thirty years war happens to be one of the periods of european history that im most interested in and lead me to buy the card driven game of the same name, which is the first wargaming ive done since school and im 36 now. An understanding of the thirty years war is essential to comprehending modern european history. In the english speaking world, the closest we have to a classic narrative is. There is, to my knowledge, no other book of this sort in english that competes in giving a detailed account of the thirty years war. Strict limitations on carbon emissions will certainly be universally enforced and the consumption of fossil fuels, except under controlled circumstances. This is probably the original and quintessential 30 years war novel. After 1625 the dutch, under prince frederick henry of orange, reversed an early trend of spanish successes and scored significant victories.
These eight volumes are a magisterial account of the crisisladen years from the mexican war to appomattox, covering social, economic, political, and military events in compelling prose. The thirty years war by wedgwood, c v used books and rare. The war of 1812 was a war between britain and the united states fought primarily in upper canada. The winner of the war of 1812 essay 1633 words bartleby. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the. The thirty years war was in part a religious war protestants versus catholics and each of those religious factions was itself internally divided. A books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. In a nutshell, the thirty years war evolved into a general european conflict with the english sitting this one out due to many of the unresolved issues of the previous century. Books on the thirty years war 16181648 71 books goodreads. The horrific series of conflicts known as the thirty years war. It had many causes, few which involved british north america. This revised edition of geoffrey parkers text incorporates recent research whilst retaining the range and depth of coverage of the first edition. Its destructive campaigns and battles occurred over most of europe, and, when it ended, the map of europe had been irrevocably changed.
What are the best history books for the 30 years war. The results of the war include the fact that there was no clear winner or loser among them. The enigma of the thirty years war is a wellreceived biography one of the war s chief generals. The history of the thirty years war is a five volume work, which followed his very successful history of the revolt of the netherlands. It remains one of the longest and most brutal wars in human history, with more than 8 million. Thirty years war 161848, in european history, a series of wars fought by various nations for various reasons, including religious, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries. I have only read the condensed, heavily illustrated classics comics version. May 27, 2012 cicely veronica wedgwood, the thirty years war. Books on the thirty years war 16181648 71 books 16 voters. Somewhere along the way i picked up that the book on the thirty years war was the prosaically entitled the thirty years war written in 1938 by a twentyeightyearold english woman, c. It was a war that devastated europe and left more than onefifth of the german population dead. In the long catalogue of european wars, its easy to miss the thirty years war, and even easier to miss the fact that it was the most disastrous european war until the 20th century.
In the englishspeaking world, the closest we have to a classic narrative is. Thirty years war, 161848, general european war fought mainly in germany. Helfferich has done a remarkable job in assembling texts that convey the sweep of the war, the religious and constitutional questions involved, the international involvement of especially denmark, sweden, and france, and the turbulent misery that the war. It continues to provide a narrative and analytical account of the war.
Discover librarianselected research resources on thirty years war 16181648 from the questia. The francodutch alliance of 1635 led to the french conquest of the walloon provinces and a sustained french drive into. Winner of the society for military history distinguished book award 2011. This book is a supremely detailed account of the 30 years war. Apr 22, 2016 that depends on your current knowledge of the subject, and the level of detail youd like to have. Since playing thirty years war ive really gotten into cdgs and block games. It reduced the population of central europe by around a quarter and left thousands of towns and villages in ruins. The hapsburgs of austria wanted to dominate the holy roman empire, france wanted to contain the spainish and austrian branches, and sweden was on its way to becoming a.