Renaissance and Reformation France, 1500-1648 (Short Oxford History of France)

Rating:
Summary: Very readable
Review: Though I generally prefer narrative history, and this book includes very little narrative beyond its chapter on the Wars of Religion, I found all the various authors' styles so attractive that I was sucked in to reading the thematic material in the rest of the book as well! Therefore I highly recommend the book. I've recently read a more detailed book on the Wars of Religion, but found the material here a very clear outline, particularly in conjunction with the several page chronology in the back of the book which expands on the text material, not only for the Wars of Religion, but for the entire period covered in the text. The brief section of the French experience overseas was especially well handled--I felt I learned the key points for understanding this time period in just a few pages. And as implied above, I also enjoyed reading and learned a lot from the many sections on economics, politics, and social trends. As well, most of the locales mentioned in the text are actually on maps included in the book, which can sometimes not be the case with history books. One of the best book I've read on Early Modern Europe.