This carefully curated anthology brings together a broad selection of timeless works in one digital edition. Readers can discover essential voices, memorable stories and enduring ideas across a rich variety of literary styles. Prepared for comfortable continuous reading, this collection is ideal for exploring classic literature or returning to lasting favorites.

A ruler of unmatched ambition. A kingdom on the brink of transformation. A legacy that shaped the course of European history.In Frederick the Great and the Rise of Prussia, William Reddaway brings to life the story of Frederick II, the visionary monarch who turned a small, fragmented state into a global power. Known as Frederick the Great, his reign was marked by groundbreaking military campaigns, sweeping reforms, and an unwavering drive to modernize Prussia, even in the f...

The second volume in the Nobel Prize winner's biography of John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough: "The greatest historical work written in our century" (Leo Strauss).After the defeat of the Conservative government in the 1929 general election, Winston S. Churchill entered a period of political exile; a time he referred to as "the wilderness years." It was during this time that Churchill began his work on Marlborough: His Life and Times, widely consider...

A grand sweeping military history of the “pike and shot” era, with a particular emphasis on the Thirty Years’ War in Europe (1618–1648). Originally published in two volumes, the first covers the life of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and known as “The Lion of the North” by his many opponents. Born into an era of constant warfare, he became king at 17, transformed the Army of Sweden into the first truly modern military machine, and led it in person for twenty years until his untimely de...

Otto Eduard Leopold Von Bismarck was born at the manor-house of Schoenhausen, in the Mark of Brandenburg, on April 1, 1815. Just a month before, Napoleon had escaped from Elba; and, as the child lay in his cradle, the peasants of the village, who but half a year ago had returned from the great campaign in France, were once more called to arms. A few months passed by; again the King of Prussia returned at the head of his army; in the village churches the medals won at Waterloo were hung up ...

In "Secret Diplomatic History of The Eighteenth Century," Karl Marx delves into the intricacies of diplomatic relations and political maneuverings during a transformative period in European history. Employing a meticulous analytical approach, Marx unearths the hidden behaviors and motivations of state actors, revealing how economic interests and class struggles shaped international relations. The writing style is both rigorous and accessible, making the complex diplomatic exchanges of the ...

“THIS book deals especially with a period of German history of twenty-three years’ duration. Beginning with the French Revolution of 1848 it records the rousing in Germany of passions long pent-up, and, for the time, difficult to be controlled or directed; the manner in which these passions were eventually mastered; the great void and the fierce longing they left behind them; the use made by one of the chief Powers of Germany of the feelings and aspirations thus dormant, and, finally, the ...

About the year of our Lord 997, Adelbert, Bishop of Prague, with two companions, set out on a missionary tour to the shores of the Baltic. The savage inhabitants killed him. Still Christianity gradually gained ground. As the ages rolled on, idolatry disappeared, and nominal Christianity took its place. The people were poor, ignorant, widely dispersed, and but partially civilized. During weary centuries, as generations came and went, nothing in that region occurred of interest to the world ...

THE present work has no pretention to be anything like an exhaustive biography of Charles XII.--a perfectly adequate treatment of so large and complex a subject would demand many volumes. But it does claim to at least suggest the lines on which such a biography should be written, it professes to present the leading facts of the heroic monarch's career in the light of the latest investigations and it endeavours to dissipate the many erroneous notions concerning "The Lion of the North" for w...

Charles XII and the Collapse of the Swedish Empire is a fascinating history of the famous Swedish monarch and the Great Northern War. A table of contents is included.

The life of Napoleon is etched still across the history of Europe, in the wars he waged, the dynasties that he toppled, and the laws he enacted. Even in an epoch rich in social change, from the bottom up he remains a fascinating figure; biographers face the challenge of doing justice to such a multi-faceted character. Few can have been said to have access to the Emperor as much as the generals that served under him throughout his many campaigns; General Jomini spent many year serving the E...

More than three and a half centuries have passed since the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), but this most devastating of wars in the early modern period continues to capture the imagination of readers. This book reveals why.In this accessible, concise guide, Richard Bonney explains one of the first wars where contemporaries stressed the importance of atrocities, the horrors of the fighting and also the sufferings of the civilian population...