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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES AND ECONOMIST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2016
''A definitive study of the amorphous state that lasted a thousand years ... The Holy Roman Empire deserves to be hailed as a magnum opus'' Tom Holland, Daily Telegraph
''Engrossing ... staggering ... a book that is relevant to our own times'' The Times
''Masterly ... If, like most people, you know little more about the Holy Roman Empire other than Voltaire''s bon mot - neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire - then this is the book for you'' Daniel Johnson, Sunday Times
''A history that helps us understand Europe''s problems today ... interesting and provocative, makes the complex understandable'' Christopher Kissane, Guardian
A great, sprawling, ancient and unique entity, the Holy Roman Empire, from its founding by Charlemagne to its destruction by Napoleon a millennium later, formed the heart of Europe. It was a great
Trade Review
Masterly...Peter H Wilson condenses a great deal of modern scholarship while wearing his learning lightly. -- Daniel Johnson * The Sunday Times *
Wilson's history represents the culmination of a lifetime of research and thought, and in its scope and depth of detail is an astonishing scholarly achievement. The author moves from the grand themes to detail with felicity. -- Jonathan Steinberg * The Spectator *
As vast and capacious as the empire it describes, his book is as definitive a study of its subject as one could hope to read...The Holy Roman Empire deserves to be hailed as a magnum opus. -- Tom Holland * The Telegraph *
Wilson makes the complex understandable. -- Christopher Kissane * The Guardian *
Peter Wilson is to be congratulated on writing the only English-language work that deals with the empire from start to finish and on the basis of staggering erudition. He will not thank anyone for saying so, but it is also a book that is relevant to our own times. -- Brendan Simms * The Times *
