The author, an accomplished scholar of the modern era, provides, in this concise volume, a solid, comprehensive and yet discriminating account of the evolution of European civilisation from the 16th to the 18th century, from Charles V to Napoleon. Politics is placed at the centre of this narrative: state formation, domestic consolidation, external conflict, gradual re-structuring of the balances of power in Europe. Political history, however, is complemented by explanation of social, economic, and cultural affairs.

Angelantonio Spagnoletti teaches Modern History at the University of Bari.