Status
Available
Call number
Publication
London : Allen Lane, 2009.
Description
A deadly continental struggle, the Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe, killing nearly a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. In a major reassessment, Wilson argues that religion was not the catalyst, but one element in a lethal stew of political, social, and dynastic forces that fed the conflict--a conflict that ultimately transformed the map of the modern world.
Media reviews
"This is one of the few blind spots in what is otherwise a wonderfully comprehensive and detailed account. Although not always an easy read, it is unfailingly instructive and stimulating."
"It is to Wilson’s credit that he can both offer the reader a detailed account of this terrible and complicated war and step back to give due summaries. His scholarship seems to me remarkable, his prose light and lovely, his judgments fair."
The war fought between 1618 and 1648 remains, by many measures, the most destructive in Europe's history. During those years the Holy Roman Empire—which governed most of the European continent east of the Rhine—lost as many as eight million subjects, or a staggering 20% of its population. This
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amount to three times Europe's death rate during World War II. Whole swaths of central Europe were depopulated, abandoned to wild pigs and wolves. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member eoinpurcell
An absolutely fabulous book. One that takes accepted history by the scruff of the neck and gives it a good facts based shakeout.
By wiping away some of the lazy assumptions or confessional bias in previous works, Wilson has done history and readers a great service.
I was struck once again as I read
By wiping away some of the lazy assumptions or confessional bias in previous works, Wilson has done history and readers a great service.
I was struck once again as I read
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through the text just what a disaster the war was for central Europe and how much damage it did to development. Show Less
LibraryThing member Schmerguls
Even though I read and hugely appreciated C. V. Wedgwood's book on the 30 Years War--it was my Book of the Year in 1968--I thought I should read this more recent book. It is indeed a formidable work (852 pages of text, 72 pages of Notes) but I found it much less enjoyable since it drowns one in
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detail. Not only do we have maps of the famous battles (which I remembered well from my Class in Modern European History taught by Father Bill Green at Loras in 1946-1947) White Mountain in 1620, Breitendfeld in 1631, Nordlingen in 1634, but we also have accounts and maps of 22 other battles. i confess I felt drowned in detail which no doubt would be appreciated by a war gamer but I felt it did no hold my interest well. After the book opens with an account of the Defenestration of Prague on May 23, 1618, it is not till page 269 that the war begins--the lead-up to the war was not that necessary, I could not help but feel. The book certainly shows the dire effects of the war on the areas of Europe affected, and there is much about the account full of interest. But I am not eager to read more about the war after slogging through these pages. Show Less
LibraryThing member peterveen
Well writtten but nevertheless heavy going because of its extremely detailed character, with every movement of troops, opinions, positions listed. A bit too much of a good thing
LibraryThing member jjmiller50
This covers the full duration of the war named, and more - the context had been developing for more than 50 years before 1618 as the author shows. The book is quite long at a thousand pages, but I'm afraid I have to say that it should have been longer. I found that the important people were so
I like what the author set out to do but I'm afraid I found C. Wedgwood's more limited account easier to follow. I'm also comparing it to the Gindely. Both of those rocket through the later years rather quickly while this book aims to be more careful. Overall, I'm glad I bought it. I just wish I'd bought it in 4 volumes.
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numerous, the actions over such a wide area and time interval, that each event had to be covered quite briefly. It was pretty hard to keep track of who was on which side. Not that that was constant, for that matter. You got a quick glimpse of a siege along the Rhine and then you were off to Bohemia for the continued doings of an Imperial general having payroll problems. Too many things attempted for the pages made available. Make this work three volumes of 500 pages, or even four of that count - it certainly appears the research is there for that sort of page count.I like what the author set out to do but I'm afraid I found C. Wedgwood's more limited account easier to follow. I'm also comparing it to the Gindely. Both of those rocket through the later years rather quickly while this book aims to be more careful. Overall, I'm glad I bought it. I just wish I'd bought it in 4 volumes.
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LibraryThing member Artymedon
Mr. Wilson has a gift, somewhat unequalled for the time period he cares for; that of making clear to the reader extraordinarily complex events.
He reexamines them under the light of the Holy Roman Empire and those leaders Gustave Adolphe of Sweden, Louis XIV of France and the Ottomans who use their
Whether religious, legal, fiscal, societal or military his analyses give the reader the clues to understand.
Wilson's touch on events is never boring as too many history books give dates, places and events without concern for how dainty they can be to absorb.
If you like history without the squeamishness, you will like the Thirty Years War; Europe's Tragedy and fly through its 997 pages.
He reexamines them under the light of the Holy Roman Empire and those leaders Gustave Adolphe of Sweden, Louis XIV of France and the Ottomans who use their
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maces, canons or swords to hit at its fringes. Whether religious, legal, fiscal, societal or military his analyses give the reader the clues to understand.
Wilson's touch on events is never boring as too many history books give dates, places and events without concern for how dainty they can be to absorb.
If you like history without the squeamishness, you will like the Thirty Years War; Europe's Tragedy and fly through its 997 pages.
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LibraryThing member HadriantheBlind
Nine hundred pages on one of the bloodiest wars in European history. A considerable portion of Germans, when polled, consider this to be the worst war in Germany's history, including both World Wars!
Perfect Christmas-time reading.
This is a very thorough one-volume overview of the Thirty Years War,
The machinations of the Swedes, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs, the French, and the separate duchies, kingdoms, and bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire are a bit hard to follow at times, although the author does try extremely hard to make it all follow some chronology. The battles and tactics are described well, as is society before, during, and the aftermath of this long struggle.
Out of all of this mess, the Dutch finally received their independence, and the very idea of the nation-state was born, perhaps being the spark of the whole modern era in Europe. Out of the hottest crucibles of war, the Enlightenment rose.
Perfect Christmas-time reading.
This is a very thorough one-volume overview of the Thirty Years War,
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providing some 290 pages of background before finally reaching the Defenestration of Prague.The machinations of the Swedes, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs, the French, and the separate duchies, kingdoms, and bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire are a bit hard to follow at times, although the author does try extremely hard to make it all follow some chronology. The battles and tactics are described well, as is society before, during, and the aftermath of this long struggle.
Out of all of this mess, the Dutch finally received their independence, and the very idea of the nation-state was born, perhaps being the spark of the whole modern era in Europe. Out of the hottest crucibles of war, the Enlightenment rose.
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LibraryThing member jerry-book
This is really complicated 30 years of religious war. His conclusion is that people were cynically manipulated by way of religion to fight for the elite. It was, like any other war, a rich man's war and a poor man's fight which in 1648 left thousands of men without hope or a trade, they have only
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learned fighting. Show Less
LibraryThing member MacDad
Peter Wilson's book is about more than the war that consumed central Europe in the 17th century. To adequately explain the factors that led up to it and influenced its outcome, he describes the context of politics and government in the Holy Roman Empire. This vast, unwieldy, and yet surprisingly
Yet Wilson makes a persuasive argument that the war was more about politics than religion. Though confessional issues sparked the initial outbreak, the war often led to cross-confessional alliances that set co-religionists against each other. Here Wilson builds upon his extensive discussion of prewar politics to highlight the dynastic ambitions of people like Frederick V of Palatine and Maximilian of Bavaria and their efforts to use the war to advance their interests. Nobody exemplified this better than Gustavus Adolphus, the Swedish king whose intervention reversed the string of Imperial victories. Though his death deprived the rebels of their greatest leader, the war dragged on thanks to the support provided by the French, whose rise to European dominance coincided with the conflict.
All of this is described in an elaborate narrative designed to give the reader an understanding of the factors at work in the conflict and how the war turned out the way it did. The text is dense with the names of people and locations, yet this helps convey the considerable complexity of events. Simply put, this is the best history of the war available, and with remain the definitive source for anyone interested in the conflict for years to come.
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effective institution was at the center of the struggle, as Protestants and Catholics struggle to coexist within it in the years following the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. Fragile as it was, this peace was strained by the efforts of successive Habsburg emperors to strengthen their power within the empire, an effort that fueled Protestant anxieties that the Habsburgs would use this power to advance the Catholic faith at their expense.Yet Wilson makes a persuasive argument that the war was more about politics than religion. Though confessional issues sparked the initial outbreak, the war often led to cross-confessional alliances that set co-religionists against each other. Here Wilson builds upon his extensive discussion of prewar politics to highlight the dynastic ambitions of people like Frederick V of Palatine and Maximilian of Bavaria and their efforts to use the war to advance their interests. Nobody exemplified this better than Gustavus Adolphus, the Swedish king whose intervention reversed the string of Imperial victories. Though his death deprived the rebels of their greatest leader, the war dragged on thanks to the support provided by the French, whose rise to European dominance coincided with the conflict.
All of this is described in an elaborate narrative designed to give the reader an understanding of the factors at work in the conflict and how the war turned out the way it did. The text is dense with the names of people and locations, yet this helps convey the considerable complexity of events. Simply put, this is the best history of the war available, and with remain the definitive source for anyone interested in the conflict for years to come.
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LibraryThing member dhmontgomery
Deep and comprehensive. Almost too comprehensive — there's a cast of thousands here, and keeping all the real historical personages straight was very difficult. But a good introduction to an important and overlooked period of history.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
2009
Physical description
1746 p.; 25 inches
ISBN
0141937807 / 9780141937809