Europe Reshaped 1848-1878 - J A S Grenville

In the thirty years covered by this book, Europe underwent a rapid succession of political and social changes comparable only to those produced by such cataclysms as the Reformation, the French Revolution or the world wars of our own century. France passed from the July monarchy through the bitter repression of the June days to the Second Empire, the Paris commune and the Third Republic. Cavour and Garibaldi redrew the map of Italy. Above all, Bismarck flamed across the European sky, confounding every statesman’s reckoning, releasing old long-hidden forces, filling the almanacs with prophecies of doom.

Through all these whirling events Professor Grenville moves with sureness and balance, never overwhelmed by the pace, never dazzled by the glamour or deceived by appearances. Lucid, sane and sympathetic he opens new perspectives for the reader. The narrative, though complex, is perfectly controlled through the firmly political structure of the book.