Heart of Europe
by Peter H. Wilson · first published 2016
100% neutral
The Holy Roman Empire lasted a thousand years, far longer than ancient Rome. Yet this formidable dominion never inspired the awe of its predecessor. Voltaire distilled the disdain of generations when he quipped it was neither holy, Roman, nor an empire. Yet as Peter Wilson shows, the Holy Roman Empire tells a millennial story of Europe better than the histories of individual nation-states. And its legacy can be seen today in debates over the nature of the European Union. Heart of Europe traces the Empire from its origins within Charlemagne's kingdom in 800 to its demise in 1806. By the mid-ten
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…rather than their owners or the people around them. The roles of the British as liberators and slaves as their aids in the War of 1812 is very interesting. And one last one that I'm currently reading is Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire by Peter H. Wilson. I haven't finished it yet, so take this with a grain of salt, but it's very interesting to hear about a large aspect of European history I wasn't…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite history books?” ↗…Enrique Vila-Matas Olinger Stories by John Updike Greek Science in Antiquity by Marshall Clagett At The Existentialist Cafe by Sarah Bakewell 100 Diagrams That Changed The World by Scott Christianson Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire by Peter Wilson Alec "The Years Have Pants" by Eddie Campbell Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane
on “Ask HN: What Are You Reading?” ↗…so I started reading about WWI history. But, to understand the antipathies in WWI, you have to go back even further in European history …. This hunt backwards for first causes has led me to Wilson's Heart of Europe, which traces the history of the Holy Roman Empire. It's a struggle, because it's much more on the scholarly than the popular side of things to which I am accustomed, but I'm engaged in it because it's…
on “Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming (2018)” ↗