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The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815

The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815

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  • Create Date：2021-11-13 09:54:44
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Timothy C.W. Blanning
  • ISBN：014016667X
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Summary

'The Penguin History of Europe series 。。。 is one of contemporary publishing's great projects' New Statesman

The Pursuit of Glory brings to life one of the most extraordinary periods in European history - from the battered， introvert continent after the Thirty Years War to the dynamic one that experienced the French Revolution and the wars of Napoleon。 Tim Blanning depicts the lives of ordinary people and the dominant personalities of the age （Louis XIV， Frederick the Great， Napoleon）， and explores an era of almost unprecedented change， growth and cultural， political and technological ferment that shaped the societies and economies of entire countries。

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Reviews

Carmen ，

Well written。 In order to improve it， I would recommend small things like when using the name of a city， if the current name is different， please put that as a footnote。 I would also recommend putting the maps nearer to the section it applies to， and maybe even marking current borders somehow。 These two things would definitely make it more user friendly， and appealing to a larger audience。 That being said， it was detailed， informative and very edifying。

Tobias ，

"Faust's alienation led him to make a wager with Mephistopheles that he could never achieve satisfaction sufficient to make him say: 'Beautiful moment， do not pass away'。 If that were to happen， he agreed， then Mephistopheles could take him。 In old age， after many adventures， Faust does at last find contentment in organizing a land reclamation project。 But he is redeemed because of his active engagement in the world and his constant striving to understand nature， human nature and his own nature。 "Faust's alienation led him to make a wager with Mephistopheles that he could never achieve satisfaction sufficient to make him say: 'Beautiful moment， do not pass away'。 If that were to happen， he agreed， then Mephistopheles could take him。 In old age， after many adventures， Faust does at last find contentment in organizing a land reclamation project。 But he is redeemed because of his active engagement in the world and his constant striving to understand nature， human nature and his own nature。" 。。。more

Joel Adams ，

How the modern world was made - another type of “new” grand narrative of European history focused on the dialectical forces of progress/regression， feeling/reason and transcendence/worldliness。 Thoughtfully bookmarked by the figure of Goethe。

Andrew Morin ，

Overall， a really good， interesting approach to a very complicated period。The thematic focus of the work was very interesting， I especially enjoyed the start from communications of the 18th century and the detailed examination of the commerce， agriculture， and manufacturing improvements that helped facilitate so much change in modern Europe was fascinating as well。 The book does a very good job at approaching the difficulty of constructing a European history from an extremely diverse continent Overall， a really good， interesting approach to a very complicated period。The thematic focus of the work was very interesting， I especially enjoyed the start from communications of the 18th century and the detailed examination of the commerce， agriculture， and manufacturing improvements that helped facilitate so much change in modern Europe was fascinating as well。 The book does a very good job at approaching the difficulty of constructing a European history from an extremely diverse continent， highlighting frequent themes and noting and explaining equally frequent exceptions。 Particularly interesting in this regard is the all too common "north-west to east" gradient in the adaption of many of the new ideas （particularly economic） of the period。 I also liked the approach Blanning takes to the major historiographical debates of the period。 This is very striking in his treatments of the various "revolutions" （scientific， industrial， etc。） but also in the broad outlines of the history of the period as a whole， where his very brief conclusion outlines both an "optimistic" and "pessimistic" perspective on the period。 At the same time， the chronology was occasionally difficult to follow。 While I really enjoyed the comparative section on the European powers， it felt somewhat disjoined to circle back all the way at the end to run through the full military history。 Similarly， dispatching with the French Revolution by page 350 before discussion the church and the Enlightenment， then retredding very similar ground on page 600 through the Revolutionary Wars and Napoleon seemed a little distracting。 Very good overall， I learned very much。 Excited to reread Pursuit of Power in the future to follow up。 。。。more

Hakim ，

An excellent overview of those upheavals that made the modern world。

Nick ，

this book talks more about toll roads than the french revolution

Dinesh Krithivasan ，

Not for the amateur reader。 This book already assumes that the reader is familiar with all the wars （and by its own admission， there are more wars and confusing alliances in the 17th century than in the half millennium preceding it）， their immediate causes and consequences。 It instead concerns itself with subtler long term trends （as subtle as the health of road networks in different kingdoms on which there is a very exciting 50 page discussion） which makes for an extremely tough slog。 There are Not for the amateur reader。 This book already assumes that the reader is familiar with all the wars （and by its own admission， there are more wars and confusing alliances in the 17th century than in the half millennium preceding it）， their immediate causes and consequences。 It instead concerns itself with subtler long term trends （as subtle as the health of road networks in different kingdoms on which there is a very exciting 50 page discussion） which makes for an extremely tough slog。 There are some interesting bits towards the end when Bonaparte appears on the scene but overall， I didn't get much out of this book。 。。。more

Sunflower28 ，

Whilst this book took a very long time to read， the level to which Blanning went into depth from the agricultural struggles of eighteenth century Europe to the culture of Palaces and the French Revolutionary wars left me in awe！！

Zach ，

I think I would have enjoyed this more had I read it rather than listen to the audiobook。 I could easily see myself giving this 3-4 stars had I read it。 But the narrator was not my favorite and I suspect he made it seem dryer than reading in my own voice would have。 That being said， I can't recommend this as an introduction to the period。 The author drops a lot of period-specific historical jargon on the reader， assuming the reader will find the references meaningful。 If you're fresh out of a co I think I would have enjoyed this more had I read it rather than listen to the audiobook。 I could easily see myself giving this 3-4 stars had I read it。 But the narrator was not my favorite and I suspect he made it seem dryer than reading in my own voice would have。 That being said， I can't recommend this as an introduction to the period。 The author drops a lot of period-specific historical jargon on the reader， assuming the reader will find the references meaningful。 If you're fresh out of a college course on early modern European history， or if you read widely within this time period， you would indeed appreciate those references， but for an introduction to this period you'd be better served by the Great Courses on the Long 18th Century。 。。。more

Maria ，

1648-1815 was the time when Europe reached out for world resources but stilled focus on neighborhood squabbles。 A time of monarchs， revolution and recovering from the wars of religion。 Blanning depicts the lives of ordinary people and the dominant personalities of the age （Louis XIV， Frederick the Great， Napoleon）， and explores an era of almost unprecedented change， growth and cultural， political and technological ferment that shaped the societies and economies of entire countries。Why I started 1648-1815 was the time when Europe reached out for world resources but stilled focus on neighborhood squabbles。 A time of monarchs， revolution and recovering from the wars of religion。 Blanning depicts the lives of ordinary people and the dominant personalities of the age （Louis XIV， Frederick the Great， Napoleon）， and explores an era of almost unprecedented change， growth and cultural， political and technological ferment that shaped the societies and economies of entire countries。Why I started this book: History audio books are the best。Why I finished it: Massive。 And fascinating to contrast the daily lives of aristocrats （hunting） with the daily life of their subjects。 Differences in tax structures and how that affected infrastructure and roads in various European kingdoms。 1648-1815 was a time of palace building， and Blanning pointed out that a good rule of thumb was the more elaborate the palace the less secure the monarch， as they were building monuments to overawe and establish their security and majesty。 。。。more

Renato ，

Un libro poderoso， ben scritto che accompagna il lettore nella esplorazione di un periodo storico importante da molti punti di vista。Come tutti i testi di impronta generalista che si confrontano con un tema così ampio， ovviamente ci sono aspetti che non mi hanno del tutto soddisfatto。 Prima di tutto il quasi nullo rilievo dato alla storia della scienza， così importante per questo periodo。 Newton viene citato di sfuggita， Lavoisier solo come protagonista di un ritratto di David。 Di Boyle o Hook n Un libro poderoso， ben scritto che accompagna il lettore nella esplorazione di un periodo storico importante da molti punti di vista。Come tutti i testi di impronta generalista che si confrontano con un tema così ampio， ovviamente ci sono aspetti che non mi hanno del tutto soddisfatto。 Prima di tutto il quasi nullo rilievo dato alla storia della scienza， così importante per questo periodo。 Newton viene citato di sfuggita， Lavoisier solo come protagonista di un ritratto di David。 Di Boyle o Hook neppure si leggono i nomi。 Appare quindi che l'autore abbia molto indugiato su argomenti che gli sono cari e per i quali ha esperienza di ricerca （Federico il Grande， ma a anche l'importanza della caccia nelle corti del periodo） e meno in altre。 Nel complesso， però， rimane una opera davvero interessante e meritevole di lettura。 。。。more

Perato ，

3，5 stars rounded down。 In parts the book is great， in parts it bogs down to weird details that I could've lived without。 The problem lies that it's geographical focus is quite tight in most subjects。 The kingdoms of Scandinavia， Poland and Balkans under Ottoman get together less visibility than Ireland especially if one cuts down the last chapters where all the wars are counted。 Granted 670 pages isn't enough to cover 150 years of European history without omitting things， but for some reason th 3，5 stars rounded down。 In parts the book is great， in parts it bogs down to weird details that I could've lived without。 The problem lies that it's geographical focus is quite tight in most subjects。 The kingdoms of Scandinavia， Poland and Balkans under Ottoman get together less visibility than Ireland especially if one cuts down the last chapters where all the wars are counted。 Granted 670 pages isn't enough to cover 150 years of European history without omitting things， but for some reason things were mostly told from the view of certain few countries。 In my opinion R。 Evans succeeded giving a more varied image of Europe in his follow up to this book， The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914。 I'm not sure I liked Blanning's writing style， filled with Latin sayings and the like。 So compared to that book from the same series， I cannot for now give this 4 stars。My own interest in history doesn't lie in this era， so my previous knowledge of the events and cultural things were flimsy。 I don't think I need another book about the general subject of European history from 1648 to 1815， so I guess it serves it's purpose to anyone interested in the subject。 。。。more

Jack ，

One of the finest， most illuminating and comprehensive history books I have ever had the pleasure of reading。

James ，

I learned a tremendous amount from this engagingly written book， but I’m not sure who the intended audience is。 It seems to assume a fair amount of familiarity with European history and geography， and I was often lost （for example， I still don’t really understand what the Holy Roman Empire was， what the powers of the Emperor were， etc）。 The bulk of the book is not about wars and kings， which I appreciated: there’s a lot about communication， agriculture， religion， culture etc。 There’s even a ridi I learned a tremendous amount from this engagingly written book， but I’m not sure who the intended audience is。 It seems to assume a fair amount of familiarity with European history and geography， and I was often lost （for example， I still don’t really understand what the Holy Roman Empire was， what the powers of the Emperor were， etc）。 The bulk of the book is not about wars and kings， which I appreciated: there’s a lot about communication， agriculture， religion， culture etc。 There’s even a ridiculous amount of space， which I skimmed， devoted to aristocratic and royal hunting。 The prose style is witty and lucid， with the occasional humorous aside， but there are a few ticks that a better editor would have fixed， most glaringly the author’s constant use of the phrase “and so on”。 。。。more

Philip ，

4。5

Andy Hart ，

This is the way history should be written。 Tim Blanning has taken a hugely complex period of European history （1648 - 1815） and made it accessible。 This book will satisfy the most ardent student and inform and entertain the general reader。 With a sweep that takes in the condition of Europe's roads in the Seventeenth Century， the rule of The Sun King， the Enlightenment， Revolutionary France and Napoleon， its scale is vast but far from daunting in the hands of a true master storyteller。 This is the way history should be written。 Tim Blanning has taken a hugely complex period of European history （1648 - 1815） and made it accessible。 This book will satisfy the most ardent student and inform and entertain the general reader。 With a sweep that takes in the condition of Europe's roads in the Seventeenth Century， the rule of The Sun King， the Enlightenment， Revolutionary France and Napoleon， its scale is vast but far from daunting in the hands of a true master storyteller。 。。。more

Ryan Lininger ，

Skimmed。 DNF

JP Mitton ，

I had to give this one 5 stars。 The is an excellent and very informative survey of Europe during a critical and violent phase which took it from the end of the feudalism to the beginning of modernity。

Aaro Salosensaari ，

Excellent read。 Well-written general history of 17th century developments （creation of post-Westphalian state， the birth of public society， and how those were more complex processes that I was told in the school textbook histories）; moreover， as far as I can see， the author does not push any pet theory of history too strongly， which makes the book very suitable as an introductory text。 Unfortunately the library requested their copy back before I could finish it。 I will recommend and also reread Excellent read。 Well-written general history of 17th century developments （creation of post-Westphalian state， the birth of public society， and how those were more complex processes that I was told in the school textbook histories）; moreover， as far as I can see， the author does not push any pet theory of history too strongly， which makes the book very suitable as an introductory text。 Unfortunately the library requested their copy back before I could finish it。 I will recommend and also reread later myself！ :） 。。。more

Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship ，

This is a thorough， engaging and informative history: it takes on a lot （more than 150 years of history in a whole slew of countries， in 677 pages）， and does an excellent job with it， offering interesting detail， analysis and quotations by contemporary observers。Interestingly， the book is organized topically rather than chronologically or geographically。 The first section discusses transportation， population and daily life， the economy， agriculture and the status and rebellions of peasants。 The This is a thorough， engaging and informative history: it takes on a lot （more than 150 years of history in a whole slew of countries， in 677 pages）， and does an excellent job with it， offering interesting detail， analysis and quotations by contemporary observers。Interestingly， the book is organized topically rather than chronologically or geographically。 The first section discusses transportation， population and daily life， the economy， agriculture and the status and rebellions of peasants。 The second discusses rulers and governments in various countries and the overall trends under their reigns， as well as political trends and reforms。 （Blanning seems to incline toward a "great man" view of history。） The third is about culture: religion， royal courts， art and the Enlightenment。 And the final section is all about wars and diplomacy。 It’s a successful organization that allows the author to delve into each topic， observing how it manifested in various countries， without getting too caught up in the “traditional” history of battles and so on （though after reading the final section it was hard to imagine how anyone managed to get anything else done with all this constant fighting！）。 He's much more focused on drawing the meaning out of history than just telling us what happened when。Unsurprisingly given the number of countries in Europe， all do not get equal treatment。 There’s a lot about France， England， the Holy Roman Empire， the Habsburg Monarchy， Prussia and Russia。 There’s some information about Spain， Italy， and the Netherlands。 There’s very little about Scandanavia， Switzerland， Portugal， Denmark or Poland， and the part of Europe under Ottoman rule at the time might as well not have existed。My real complaint about the book is that it doesn’t cite its sources; I realize this is a synthesis， and sources are sometimes referenced in the text itself， but this is still bad form in nonfictional writing。Overall though， a very informative book that manages to relate large amounts of history through engaging narrative and well-reasoned argument。 I recommend it。 。。。more

Katie ，

VERY thorough and enlightening， but -1 star for bouncing around through time and making it somewhat difficult to follow。 That said， I certainly appreciate the challenge of trying to cohesively cover so many topics in one book。 And yet I was left wanting more！

Jacob van Berkel ，

I don't like this thematic approach at all。 It's not that I don't like reading about roads and waterways and palaces and gardens and such， it's just that I would prefer them woven into a narrative， interacting with all the wars and revolutions and tsarinas and witches and such。 To me this thematic organization makes about as much sense as eating the ingredients of a lasagna separately instead of mixed together， even your favorite parts will taste bland and dry because of it。 Anyhow， I didn't enj I don't like this thematic approach at all。 It's not that I don't like reading about roads and waterways and palaces and gardens and such， it's just that I would prefer them woven into a narrative， interacting with all the wars and revolutions and tsarinas and witches and such。 To me this thematic organization makes about as much sense as eating the ingredients of a lasagna separately instead of mixed together， even your favorite parts will taste bland and dry because of it。 Anyhow， I didn't enjoy this book very much。 It's informative， yes， but so's a phonebook。 And apparently I need my information the way dogs take their pills: wrapped in a treat。 Also， Blanning is a small-minded Napoleon hater。 。。。more

Max M。 ，

The period of European history from the Peace of Westphalia to the end of the Napoleonic Wars。 was one stuffed full of history's 'great men': Louis XIV， Kant and Napoleon， to take a few examples。 It might be surprising， therefore， that Tim Blanning's history of this era， especially with its title， The Pursuit of Glory， starts not on the subject of such men and their great deeds but with an extensive discussion on the various European roads systems during the period。The reason for this surprising The period of European history from the Peace of Westphalia to the end of the Napoleonic Wars。 was one stuffed full of history's 'great men': Louis XIV， Kant and Napoleon， to take a few examples。 It might be surprising， therefore， that Tim Blanning's history of this era， especially with its title， The Pursuit of Glory， starts not on the subject of such men and their great deeds but with an extensive discussion on the various European roads systems during the period。The reason for this surprising， and surprisingly interesting， introduction is that there are two approaches for a subject matter that is this vast in terms of both time-period and geography。 One is to attempt a chronological narrative， with analysis interweaving issues domestic politics， society， technology etc。 across a linear time series。 This is the approach taken by Richard J。 Evans in the next instalment of the Penguin History of Europe series of which this book forms a part。 The other approach， the one taken by Blanning， is to break up the huge subject matter into smaller， more manageable sub-topics。 So， Blanning offers us these sub-topics split into four broad groups， which we are treated to in turn， 'Life and Death'， 'Power'， 'Religion and Culture'， and 'War and Peace'。Regardless of the approach taken， a danger for a book with this vast a scope， both in times of time period and geography， is that it ends up being a kaleidoscopic offering of information， fragmented and with each piece unconnected to the rest。 Another， related danger is that its contents end up being stretched too thin。 Blanning manages to avoid this by dealing with the structural factors first， like advances in communications， agriculture， industry etc。， before dealing with the factors more contingent on individual agency， like the 'War and Peace' section that covers foreign policy and relations between states。 He also tends to keep the discussion within each sub-topic focused on a specific debate。 For example， when writing about the Enlightenment and the period's high culture， he focuses on the dichotomy between the 'culture of reason' and the 'culture of feeling'， i。e。 between rationalism and romanticism。 While no doubt necessitating simplifications， organising principles like these keep the reader's attention focused and the book's content manageable。One such dichotomy that I found particularly interesting when reading the book's section on palaces and gardens was between the highly ordered French style of garden that reached its apotheosis at Versailles and the natural， English style。 The former came to be associated with authoritarianism， not least that of Louis XIV， and the latter with the liberty that the English seemed to enjoy in contrast。 Having written books on Frederick the Great， Joseph II and the French revolution and ensuing revolutionary wars， Blanning is authoritative when illuminating the high politics and geopolitics of the era。 The travails of the well meaning and idealistic but overzealous liberal， reformist Austrian Emperor Joseph II are especially interesting because I doubt many Anglophone readers （myself included） will have the same appreciation of the political history of Hapsburg monarchy as for that of， say， Britain or France。 All in all， Blanning has produced a volume that covers one of the most dynamic episodes in human history in a way that is focused and accessible but at the same time manages to be comprehensive。 He is even able to make those road systems seem interesting。 。。。more

Rodolfo Barazorda Vega ，

Bueno en gran parteQuizás en algunos temas el detalle es excesivo y se pierde lo importante; por lo demás， el libro es bueno。 Además， Blanning deja sentir su posición lo que invita al lector a fijar su propio punto de vista。

Joe ，

This history of the Enlightenment describes topics that I didn't expect to see （hunting and monasteries） and others that seem much more important （agriculture， transportation， communications）。 The surprising topics provide a lot of color， especially when comparing the Enlightenment to today: golfing and hunting， for example， or university culture with monastery culture。 The last section， on war and peace， was a bit disappointing: I felt I got a lot of information， but I didn't find it as fun to This history of the Enlightenment describes topics that I didn't expect to see （hunting and monasteries） and others that seem much more important （agriculture， transportation， communications）。 The surprising topics provide a lot of color， especially when comparing the Enlightenment to today: golfing and hunting， for example， or university culture with monastery culture。 The last section， on war and peace， was a bit disappointing: I felt I got a lot of information， but I didn't find it as fun to read as the earlier parts。 。。。more

Quinten Womack ，

Good place to start learning about the eraThe book moves at good pace。 It touches on a lot of topics and goes into a little depth on a few。 This is a good overview of the time period。

Praveen Kishore ，

An outstanding book indeed。 Especially compared to the previous volume in the series 'Christendom Destroyed'， this one is quite engaging and admiringly pleasant read。 However， the last part， which talks about the numerous wars of the period becomes confusing and difficult to follow， especially for someone like me， who is not a European！ An outstanding book indeed。 Especially compared to the previous volume in the series 'Christendom Destroyed'， this one is quite engaging and admiringly pleasant read。 However， the last part， which talks about the numerous wars of the period becomes confusing and difficult to follow， especially for someone like me， who is not a European！ 。。。more

Jeremy ，

This excellent overview of the history of Europe in this time frame sucked me in from the beginning and never let go。 It is really well written and managed to continue to stay fresh and interesting throughout （I learned this early on when he made a section about European roads much more interesting than I figured it would be）。 Blanning did an excellent job excerpting contemporary writing of this period， which contributed to a really good understanding of the people and times。 There were points i This excellent overview of the history of Europe in this time frame sucked me in from the beginning and never let go。 It is really well written and managed to continue to stay fresh and interesting throughout （I learned this early on when he made a section about European roads much more interesting than I figured it would be）。 Blanning did an excellent job excerpting contemporary writing of this period， which contributed to a really good understanding of the people and times。 There were points in the book that Blanning did not give enough background to give a good understanding of events， but I understand that to keep this a one volume book much had to be left out。 This is also not a deep review of Napoleon and his wars， instead deciding that enough has been written elsewhere on the subject。 。。。more

Andy Heath ，

3。5Too broad a subject， assumes knowledge， too much detail。 Excellently written

Aneece ，

really， really good。

Reference

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