This third volume of Conrad Black's magnificent series opens with the assumption of direct rule by Louis XIV of France and covers the great sweep of history with the rise of Russia, the decline of the Ottomans, the wars of the Spanish and Austrian successions, the Age of Discovery, the rise of India, China, and Japan, colonization of the New World, the Seven-Years' War, the American and French revolutions, the Napoleonic wars, the founding of the United States through the American Civil War, the Crimean War, the unification of Germany and Italy, and the decline of Pax Britannica prior to the start of World War I.

Writing with his usual panache, Lord Black continues to delight his readers with his sagacious assessments of historical figures and events. He insists, and these volumes demonstrate, that history is shaped by individual decisions in specific times and places, and that human beings are active participants in the historical movements of the world, not passive victims of blind social forces. Many intriguing personalities come to life in these pages as our modern world slowly comes into view.

This is history for the history-lover and is also a mighty reference work to be returned to again and again. A must have for all home libraries to pass down to future generations that they may contemplate the doings of their ancestors, draw strength from their courage and tenacity, and revive hope in the certain knowledge that human society continues to progress despite the hardship and setbacks which often accompany it.