Emperor: A New Life of Charles V
Emperor: A New Life of Charles V by Geoffrey Parker My rating: 4 of 5 stars There is A LOT of information in this book and for me it was a pretty slow read... but how can it be otherwise when you think of everything that Charles was? This is definitely a book for history buffs, but it is worth the effort, when the effort is made. Charles inherited (not conquered) not one, but four realms from four different grandparents (let's remember Castille and Aragon were separate countries before him). Add to this the discovery of America (done before his birth but starting to truly be relevant in his reign) and you get a situation that is (as far as I know) unique in history. A lot of the history of the world was influenced by his reign. I recommend this book more for the relevance of its main character than anything else. That said, maybe have some coffee first... View all my reviews