The Complete Idiot's Guide to European History (repost)

A 700-year odyssey from Italy’s boot to Switzerland’s Alps.
Without an understanding of events and personalities in Europe, it’s impossible to truly appreciate the development of contemporary institutions, the role of continuity and change in present-day society and politics, and the evolution of current forms of artistic and intellectual expressions. This guide provides a fascinating, easy-to-understand, fact-filled glimpse of hundreds of years of European cultural, economic, political, and social history.