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Emperor

A New Life of Charles V

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Emperor

By: Geoffrey Parker
Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
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The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task.

Geoffrey Parker, one of the world's leading historians of early modern Europe, has examined the surviving written sources in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish, as well as visual and material evidence. He explores the crucial decisions that created and preserved this vast empire, analyzes Charles' achievements within the context of both personal and structural factors, and scrutinizes the intimate details of the ruler's life for clues to his character and inclinations. The result is a unique biography that interrogates every dimension of Charles' reign and views the world through the emperor's own eyes.

©2019 Geoffrey Parker (P)2019 Tantor 16th Century Europe Medieval Modern Politicians Politics & Activism Royalty Middle Ages Italy Biography Imperialism Global Crisis
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Critic reviews

"This is a splendid book. It's well-written, engaging the reader, even while marshalling to good use a truly impressive erudition...." (James D. Tracy, author of Emperor Charles V)
All stars
Most relevant
Well written and researched, academic and readable and never loses sight of the aim of biography. First class narration too, particularly the latin and spanish!

Outstanding

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Bit too long and could have done with tighter editing. But excellent in depth look at the life and times of a remarkable man

Needed some editing

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Highly ‘readable’, confidently bringing to life the Emperor, his court (and his enormous Empire). Kudos to the outstanding narrator and his command of French, Spanish, Latin and German.

Excellent in every way

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A man who outshined the people before and after him, in my opinion. Massive detailed, almost down to the days, and a man who dominated globally in a time of giants. Loved it. Seems like most people around him were in awe of him - and I can understand why.

Amazingly detailed.

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Great book, great narrator. For a weighty time, it read easy and engagingly. liked it so much I bought a physical copy!

Excellent

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