DOC The Thirty Years' War 1618-1648 by Richard Bonney in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A 'World' War before its timeBy Perry B. Alers; aka peebeeI have always been intrigued by the Thirty Years War without knowing much about it. It is considered pivotal to modern European history; but except for one of my history professors' enthusiasm for Sweden's Gustavus Adolphus many years ago; I have had no individuals to anchor it in my mind. Prof. Bonney has fixed this. For one thing; he has provided a very complete chronology of the war itself as well as the diplomatic events which shaped it. Further; he has provided some short discussion sections on the soldiers who fought it; the impact on the populace caught in its path; eyewitness accounts; and the long-term effects of the Peace of Westphalia; which (more or less) ended it. Among other things it marked the end of the age of wars based on religious confession; and determined the political geography of Europe for nearly two centuries; until the advent of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna. The book is a slog (as was the war) in places; but will ultimately reward the persistent.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A tough subjectBy Michael LapelosaThe Thirty Years War is a difficult topic to tackle. The politics are obscure; the geographic landscape unfamiliar; and the personalities; with just a couple of exceptions are largely unknown. I was expecting the Ospery book to provide me with an informative and conscise overview which would help me unravel this dense era. I have found several other books in the series VERY enlightening and interesting.Unfortunately; although I have a somewhat better understanding for this period of history; I was a little disappointed. The author; try as he might; failed to convey the same straightforward understanding that I achieved by reading other books in the series. The politics and the times are still pretty murky to me and although I know more now than I did before I read the book; I didn't get the level of understanding and enjoyment that I was seeking. In addition; alyhough there are excellent maps which depict several important battles; this volume is hurt by the failure to include larger maps of the European landscape. This omission is particularly fateful because so much of the geography; cities; and political entities of the time is unfamilier to the reader;1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Page limitsBy Robert SullivanThe book is a good summary and you can tell the author is doing his best with the page restriction; but it's simply asking too much of him. There is simply no way that any author can cram 30 years of European military history in least than 100 pages. As I said in my French revolutionary Wars review Osprey needs to create a new series like this but with a much bigger page count. I understand that this will mean a higher price and a slower publishing rate; but I think it will be worth it. I hope at least they'll create new campaign titles based on the battles mentioned in the book. This book could also use the space for more maps because the text will often refer to very obscure European cities or German minor States that no longer exist. One major positive of the book was that the personal accounts were very interesting. If you want something to serve as an introduction to the 30 years war. just don't treat this book as your final stop in your research.