Max Beloff (1913–1999)

A history book that may or may not have been intended as pop history. It covers the 1660-1815 period, when a lot of Europe was under the sway of absolute monarchs and the ideology of absolutism. Beloff illustrates how these various countries came to be that way, the differences between them, and the varying social, financial and political processes that would eventually undermine them (although he doesn't really touch on the downfalls themselves). It's fairly interesting, though having no previous knowledge of this chunk of history I found much of it hard going - there are a lot of names, events and places that I simply don't recognise, and it's assumed that you will. However, I certainly feel like I've learned something, and it's not a very long book, so I rate it fairly well despite its age (1963 publication) and dryness.… (altro)