Free summaries
History - European — page 3
459 public-domain history - european books, summarised. Page 3 of 10.
A Short History of the Great War
A. F. (Albert Frederick) Pollard
The Great War of 1914–1918 transformed the map of the world and the lives of millions. This narrative provides an immediate, firsthand account of the conflict’s progression, from the initial breach of peace to the final armistice.
Owen Glyndwr and the Last Struggle for Welsh Independence: With a Brief Sketch of Welsh History
A. G. (Arthur Granville) Bradley
Long after its medieval princes fell, a fiercely independent nation rallies around a charismatic nobleman who challenges the English crown and reshapes a country's national identity.
The Swiss Republic
Boyd Winchester
This study serves as both a diplomatic chronicle and a comparative analysis of Swiss governance, offering a window into the oldest federal republic in the world. It provides a detailed, observant exploration of how a nation defined by diversity of language, religion, and geography has successfully maintained a…
A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages
Henry Charles Lea
To govern the minds and souls of men, medieval Christendom forged a judicial engine that redefined law, heresy, and human conscience.
History of the Reign of Philip the Second King of Spain, Vol. 3: And Biographical & Critical Miscellanies
William Hickling Prescott
In the craggy folds of Andalusia, an entire people rises against the iron grip of Spanish intolerance, setting off a war that shakes an empire to its core.
The Russian Army and the Japanese War, Vol. 2 (of 2): Being Historical and Critical Comments on the Military Policy and Power of Russia and on the Campaign in the Far East
A. N. (Alekseĭ Nikolaevich) Kuropatkin
A commander who held the highest post in the field steps forward to account for a catastrophic military collapse, laying bare the structural rot and political folly that turned an empire’s army into a defeated force.
The Story of the Great War, Volume 1: Introductions
Unknown
Before the battlefields of the First World War stabilized into trench lines and artillery bombardment, a comprehensive chronicle captured the geopolitical rivalries, military doctrines, and failed dispatches that brought Europe to total ruin.
The French Revolution of 1789, as Viewed in the Light of Republican Institutions
John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott
A bitter, desperate peasantry rises against centuries of feudal oppression, transforming a star-crossed bid for constitutional reform into a fiery, total reconstruction of European society. Written from an explicit American republican perspective, this account frames the uprising as an inevitable explosion against…
The Rise of the Dutch Republic
John Lothrop Motley
A bloody, desperate fight for religious and political liberty erupts when sixteenth-century Holland resists the murderous tyranny of imperial Spain.
And the Kaiser abdicates: The German Revolution November 1918-August 1919
S. Miles (Stephen Miles) Bouton
A nation built on unyielding state authority and obedience collapses under the weight of hunger, military defeat, and ideological division, giving birth to an unsteady democratic republic.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898
Unknown
An intricate mosaic of seventeenth-century colonial record, this sixteenth volume captures the fragile Spanish foothold in the Philippine archipelago through raw, immediate accounts of trade, conflict, and administrative strain.
Catherine De Medici
Honoré de Balzac
A Florentine outsider navigates the deadly currents of the French Renaissance, balancing royal intrigue, religious insurrection, and the precarious survival of her dynasty.
History of the Revolt of the Netherlands
Friedrich Schiller
A relentless despotic empire attempts to crush a free people's ancient rights, triggering a fierce, multi-decade struggle for liberty that reshapes European history.
PG Edition of Netherlands series
John Lothrop Motley
An extraordinary eighty-year struggle pits a tiny strip of coastal marshes against the world’s most powerful empire, transforming a desperate rebellion for religious and political liberty into a global maritime republic.
Europe and the Faith: "Sine auctoritate nulla vita"
Hilaire Belloc
Europe is not a mere collection of neighboring territories, but a single, continuous living organism whose central vital force has always been the Catholic Church.
The Dark Ages, 476-918
Charles Oman
A fierce and chaotic continent emerges from the ashes of the Western Roman Empire to build the foundation of medieval Europe.
Roumania Past and Present
James Samuelson
Bridging the gap between a rising Danubian state and an indifferent Western public, this comprehensive account transforms a little-understood European realm into a vivid tapestry of ancient Roman legacy, regional warfare, and modern nation-building.
A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Two
Thomas Frognall Dibdin
A peripatetic scholar documents his fervent quest for rare manuscripts and antiquarian treasures across France and Germany, capturing the fading echoes of history within the silent halls of great European libraries.
Military and religious life in the Middle Ages and at the period of the Renaissance
P. L. Jacob
This survey of European history examines the dual pillars of medieval and Renaissance society, tracing how martial ambition and religious fervor collided to shape the modern Western world.
Antwerp to Gallipoli: A Year of the War on Many Fronts—and Behind Them
Arthur Ruhl
HOOK Witness the transformation of a world in collapse, as a reporter travels from the front lines in France to the besieged trenches of Gallipoli and the retreating borders of Russia.
The State of Society in France Before the Revolution of 1789: And the Causes Which Led to That Event
Alexis de Tocqueville
The French Revolution was not a sudden rupture, but the inevitable culmination of centuries of centralization that systematically stripped the nobility of responsibility while leaving their petty privileges intact.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 04
Unknown
The collapse of ancient authority did not mark the end of the world, but rather the violent, chaotic birth of the nations we recognize today. This collection gathers historical accounts to illustrate the transition from the fall of Rome to the rise of Charlemagne.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 05: (From Charlemagne to Frederick Barbarossa)
Unknown
The three centuries spanning from the decline of Charlemagne’s empire to the rise of Frederick Barbarossa redefined the European landscape. This volume captures the volatile transition from tribal chaos to the structured, if brutal, foundations of modern nations, religions, and social hierarchies.
Historical View of the Languages and Literature of the Slavic Nations: With a Sketch of Their Popular Poetry
Talvj
An expansive survey of the Slavic intellectual landscape, this work captures the soul and history of a vast linguistic family through its literature, folklore, and long-standing struggle for cultural identity.
Tyrol and Its People
Clive Holland
This exploration of the Austrian Alps balances the grandeur of mountain scenery with the intimate, often tragic, pulse of the region’s long-standing traditions. It invites readers into a landscape where ancient stone castles and humble village rituals coexist.
Pictures of German Life in the XVth, XVIth, and XVIIth Centuries, Vol. II
Gustav Freytag
A harrowing portrait of seventeenth-century Germany, where the devastating Thirty Years’ War dismantled the fabric of daily life and left the survivors to reconstruct a shattered civilization from its own ruins.
History of Spanish and Portuguese Literature (Vol 1 of 2)
Friedrich Bouterwek
The cultural landscape of Spain and Portugal reveals itself through the evolution of its poetry and prose, from the medieval era to the sophisticated literary movements of the eighteenth century. This scholarly survey maps the changing national identity of two nations by tracing the voices of their most influential…
Ten Days That Shook the World
John Reed
A journalist’s vivid, boots-on-the-ground chronicle of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, capturing the chaotic birth of the Soviet state through the eyes of those who lived it.
The History of Cuba, vol. 2
Willis Fletcher Johnson
This chronicle meticulously traces Cuba’s evolution from a colonial military outpost into a nascent nation, capturing the complex, often violent interplay between Spanish imperial ambition and the island’s own developing identity. It offers a structured look at the strategic, economic, and social forces that…
Paris under the Commune: The Seventy-Three Days of the Second Siege
John Leighton
Paris under the Commune is a visceral, firsthand account of the 1871 insurrection, capturing a city fractured by revolutionary fervor and the brutal finality of civil war. It serves as a haunting witness to the destruction of a world.
The Story of Siena and San Gimignano
Edmund G. Gardner
This exploration of two Tuscan treasures captures the soul of the Middle Ages, tracing the rise, struggle, and eventual fading of independent civic life in Italy.
History of Friedrich II of Prussia
Thomas Carlyle
This massive historical chronicle follows the ascent and survival of a king who, through sheer force of will and military intellect, transforms a secondary European power into a dominant, albeit embattled, force. It is a portrait of a man shaped by relentless pressure, where every strategic victory serves only to…
History of Zionism, 1600-1918, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Nahum Sokolow
This sweeping chronicle maps the intellectual and political origins of the Zionist movement, tracing a centuries-old dream of return from the religious fervor of the 1600s to the geopolitical realities of 1918.
The New York Times Current History: the European War, February, 1915
Various
This chronicle captures the chaotic, early industrial pulse of the Great War, documenting the swift transition from pre-war confidence to the grim, grinding reality of total conflict. It serves as an immediate, visceral record of a world fracturing in real-time.
Paris and the Social Revolution: A Study of the Revolutionary Elements in the Various Classes of Parisian Society
Alvan F. (Alvan Francis) Sanborn
A window into the forgotten, radical heart of Belle Époque Paris, where dissent, poverty, and artistic fervor collide in the shadowed streets of the Latin Quarter.
The Last Days of the Romanovs
N. (Nikolai) Sokolov
The final hours of the Romanov family in Yekaterinburg reveal a stark descent into tragedy, documented through the meticulous, often haunting, judicial investigation into the events of July 1918.
Life on a Mediaeval Barony: A Picture of a Typical Feudal Community in the Thirteenth Century
William Stearns Davis
This study offers a comprehensive, immersive reconstruction of thirteenth-century life, detailing the rigid structures, daily routines, and social hierarchies that defined a typical feudal barony.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 07
Unknown
This collection presents a sweeping tapestry of the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, capturing the rise of modern states and the human spirit through the eyes of diverse, renowned scholars. It chronicles the transformative period that bridged the medieval world and the Renaissance.
History of the Peninsular War, Volume 1 (of 6)
Robert Southey
The Peninsular War stands as a watershed of the nineteenth century, marking the violent, often treacherous intersection of Napoleonic ambition and the fierce, unyielding spirit of national independence.
The Sunny Side of Ireland: How to see it by the Great Southern and Western Railway
John O'Mahony
This practical, vivid guide illuminates the scenic wonders and historical depths of Southern and Western Ireland, mapping the terrain through the iron veins of its primary railway network.
An Introduction to the History of Western Europe
James Harvey Robinson
Sweeping across fifteen centuries of continental transformation, this volume presents a measured, institutions-focused account of how European society remade itself from the fall of Rome to the twentieth century.
The Catholic World, Vol. 08, October, 1868, to March, 1869
Various
A collection of mid-nineteenth-century Catholic intellectual life, where essayists, historians, and novelists grapple with a rapidly modernizing world.
The Liberation of Italy, 1815-1870
Martinengo-Cesaresco, Evelyn Lilian Hazeldine Carrington, contessa
A nation is not born in a single day, nor does it spring from a single heart. Italy’s path to unified statehood was a fifty-year entanglement of noble ideals, terrible blunders, secret societies, and shifting European alliances.
The Rise of the Dutch Republic
John Lothrop Motley
A small European province wages an eighty-year war of liberation against the world's most formidable empire, giving birth to a self-governing republic rooted in religious freedom.
Armour & Weapons
Charles John Ffoulkes
This study provides an essential, technically grounded overview of European defensive equipment, demystifying the development of mail and plate for the non-specialist. It bridges the gap between romanticized fiction and the practical realities of historical warfare.
History of the Commune of 1871
Lissagaray
A desperate city, abandoned by its leaders, takes up arms to defend its autonomy and its vision of a democratic republic against a reactionary government.
The History of a Lie: "The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion"
Herman Bernstein
Fabricated claims of a global conspiracy do not emerge from thin air; they are deliberately assembled, recycled, and weaponized by desperate reactionary political forces.
The Minister of Evil: The Secret History of Rasputin's Betrayal of Russia
William Le Queux
A court insider turns against his master to detail how a unlettered Siberian peasant seduced a dynasty, blackmailed a nation, and sold its secrets to the enemy.