The new volume in the acclaimed Penguin History of Europe series takes on the greater eighteenth century in all its revolutionary glory

Here is an enormously entertaining, rich, and provocative account of a vivid and magnificent era in Europe's history. Tim Blanning has for many years been one of the foremost writers on the eighteenth century. The culmination of many years' work, The Pursuit of Glory is an accessible and enjoyable account of Europe from the end of the Thirty Years' War to the Battle of Waterloo—an era of immense change and cultural, political, and technological ferment. Spanning the years 1648-1815, The Pursuit of Glory takes us from the Enlightenment through the French Revolution and Napoleonic era. As interested in the art and music of the period as in the great dynastic and revolutionary wars, as concerned with the lives of ordinary people as with the great rulers on horseback, The Pursuit of Glory turns a compelling spotlight on one of history's most unique and fascinating eras.