Germany and the Holy Roman Empire: Volume I: Maximilian I to the Peace of Westphalia, 1493-1648 (Oxford History of Early Modern Europe) (Volume 1)
Review from previous edition: "scholars ... will concur in their debt to Whaley's magnum opus ... [it] stands apart as the most authoritative account of the early modern empire"  --C. Ingrao, CHOICE"... the most comprehensive work on the subject in recent times and will almost certainly achieve the rank of a standard work - and not only in the anglophone world ... a singular monument of anglo-saxon learning ... a model of historical scholarship ... a monumental work ... recommended not only to scholars but also to students and anyone interested in history ... Whaley's style makes reading his book a pleasure"  --Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"a monumental history of the Holy Roman Empire which far surpasses everything that has been written about the subject to date. German history between the Reformation and Napoleon has never been written in such a lively, multi-faceted, source-based, and coherent manner. A history that embraces the whole of [German] culture, religion, economy and society"  --Suddeutsche Zeitung"Whaley sees the Reich as a continually reforming, diverse but legally ordered polity, rather than some kind of bizarre monstrosity or collective fiction. His two volumes are exceptionally well written and highly nuanced and reflect the latest scholarship. Indeed, they represent a huge personal achievement. They will  provide a standard of scholarship against which all future works will be measured"  --Alan Sked, Reviews in History"its complexity and sophistication, [the] stupendous breadth and depth of Whaley's knowledge. The two volumes are full of incisive chapters on topics as diverse as economic policies, religious reform movements, court culture ... skilfully crafted and engrossing narrative"  --Michael Schaich, Times Literary Supplement"superb and authoritative study"  --Peter Oborne, Daily Telegraph"Whaley's account is one of the best works on early modern German history. From the first page to the last, it shows how German history can be presented as both a history of Emperor and Empire, and a history of common culture. It will immediately establish itself as a standard guide to its subject."  --Georg Schmidt, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena"Overall brilliantly successful ... a detailed account of two hundred years of German history ... In a thousand details the monograph is more knowledgeable that other English-language accounts of German history ... and in numerous respects it is more knowledgeable than many a German handbook ... Whaley demonstrates a stupendous knowledge of German history. The reviewer believes this book is the most important English-language work on pre-modern German history for at least two decades"  --Axel Gotthard, Sehepunkte"An enterprise of this magnitude requires a steady hand on the tiller, as the author steers between the rocks of historiographical controversy and the shoals of submerged detail. Whaley accomplishes his argosy with poise and style. These two volumes, which will undoubtedly become a first point of reference, are a remarkable achievement of which the author should feel justly proud"  --Tom Scott, English Historical Review"the most comprehensive survey of Germany's early modern history ever undertaken, the first book of its kind since the 1950s, and one of the most substantial works of historical scholarship published in the UK in 2011"  --Research Horizons, University of Cambridge