The Thirty Years War Audiobook (Unabridged)

" Excellent work of history. Ms. Wedgwood has a talent for supplying you with a profusion of facts and figures but never leting it bog down the narrative. She can deal with kings,emperors,soldiers,and peasants with equal deftness. All they tought us in school was that this war was a fight between catholics and protestants. She shows you that it was so much more complicated than that. I would have given it five stars if the book was more well supplied with quality maps. I"m a man who likes a lot of detailed maps to go with his military history. "

" Loved this book. In Prague, last year, we finally got to see the window of the defenestration. "

" Brilliantly researched and written account of a turbulent and tragic piece of European history. This is particularly no mean feat given the length and complexity of the war, but the narrative is so lucid and clear that one follows Ms Wedgwood's writing easily and with pleasure. It does not matter if (as in my case)you knew next to nothing about this period before reading. I wish all history was written so well. "

" Got about a third of the way through this but it was a struggle. Despite interesting topic, writing style was needlessly complex and confusing. May pick this up again someday, but more likely I'll find a better book on the subject and start over. "

" Tangled but fascinating. About as good a telling of this inherently hyper-complicated bit of history as can be imagined. "

" I read this because there were too many descriptions of food in G.R.R. Martin's "A Song of Fire and Ice." There's just as much political/family intrigue here but it's much easier to read on an empty stomach. "

" Fantastic book. Wedgwood brings the various players to life and elucidates the factors that lead to the war as well as the way the war's legacy changed Europe. "

" Masterful history of this era in European history. Warning: its a long and complicated affair (it lasted 30 years), and forces the reader to learn German geography to follow the action, but it is worth the effort. "

" The Thirty Years War was an insanely complex maze of alliances, betrayals, and disasters based on the Protestant and Catholic division of Europe, but C.V. Wedgwood does a nice job of making sense of a senseless war. "

" Now, I finally feel like I've got a handle on the Thirty Years War. "

" This book was loved, without a doubt, despite the lack of causality, it was a narrative feast of how. "

" Good book. A little difficult to keep up with the different people and places in spots (I just had to slow down and backtrack a little). All the different political maneuvering was interesting. Recommended for those who want to learn more about the 1600s. "

" Considering the convoluted politics going on during the time period, Wedgwood makes a complicated history very readable. It furthered my understanding of many events both of the times (1619-1649 roughly) and the following centuries. "

" Loved this book! The author found a way to interject notes and commentary that could never be gleaned by straight up-and-up reading of the facts...Entertaining. The only thing that would have made it better would have been detailed maps containing the many places referenced throughout the book. "

" There are many historians who have written on this time, but few who are actually good authors. Ms. Wedgewood is exceptional in both capacities, and this often overlooked era of European history, in all of its complexities and relevance, is made very accessible by her. "

" This woman is my hero. "

" Good old-fashioned narrative history--the kind that is a pleasure to read (if, in this case, an extremely grim one) and not a duty. "

" Fascinating stuff, but I plan to read other books covering the early years of the conflict before returning to see how things pan out (badly, of course, for Europe, but I'm optimistic about the book). "

" I am reading this book for the second time in the past couple of years. I don't know why I only gave it 4 stars earlier. One of the best history books I've read for its narrative sweep. Up there with Battle Cry of Freedom. "