This book is by very knowledgeable author, who has his own interesting views and prospectives. Even if you disagree about some issues, or you find his findings to be strange, it is pleasure to disagree.It looks like many readers of history books are looking for reconfirmation of the ideas they convey already. This book is a fresh stream, no doubt. It bring more than just dates and sequences, it gives you much of flesh, of feeling, of European feeling about subjects that hard to recollect living in US. While some points of controversy is a feature of the book it has my highest recommendations. It gives a touch of a light on the subjects that otherwise often appear academic, lifeless and curved in stone.