Chronicles European history from the end of the Thirty Years' War to the Battle of Waterloo, featuring vivid coverage of such events as the Enlightenment period, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic era.

Part 1. Life and death -- Communications -- People -- Trade and manufacturing -- Agriculture and the rural world -- Part 2. Power -- Rulers and their elites -- Reform and revolution -- Part 3. Religion and culture -- Religion and the churches -- Court and country -- Palaces and gardens -- The culture of feeling and the culture of reason -- Part 4. War and peace -- From the peace of Westphalia to the peace of Nystad -- From the peace of Nystad to the French Revolutionary Wars -- The wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon.