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The Thirty Years War

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About this listen

Initially, the Thirty Years War was precipitated in 1618 by religious conflicts between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire. But the conflict soon spread beyond religion to encompass the internal politics and balance of power within the Empire, and then later to the other European powers. By the end, it became simply a dynastic struggle between Bourbon France and Habsburg Spain. And almost all of it was fought out in Germany. After 30 years of conflict, entire regions of Germany and Bohemia were depopulated and destroyed by marching armies, fire, famine, and disease. It bankrupted most of the participants while leaving thousands of German villages, towns, and even cities in smoldering ruin.

Because of the political and geographical complexity of the early 17th century, an understanding of The Thirty Years War can be difficult to grasp in the beginning. Listeners will be rewarded by patience. As an aid to comprehension, we recommend the online Wikipedia article "The Thirty Years War" for maps and overviews of the geography, principle leaders, and major battles.

Total running time: 19 hours and 48 minutes. Narrator: Charlton Griffin.

©1938 Estate of C. V. Wedgwood (P)2012 Audio Connoisseur Europe History Thirty Years War
I had always wondered about the thirty years war, when you read IR or European history certain factoids about that period was thrown at you, one is that, this war claimed the lives of 1/3rd of the population living in Germany, the peace of Westphalia signed at the end of this war heralded the era of nation-state.

Cardinal Richelieu practical policy of interfering on behalf of the Protestant princes in pursuit of national interest was appreciated by Kissinger in his book Diplomacy.

But, I did not know much about this period and why this war happened.

Hence, I was excited to find such an book in audible.
Oh boy, isn’t this book good!

Combining geography, politics and what the author calls “human element” a beautiful and racy narration of that tumultuous period is presented in this book.


It is a great read, you will know about the important players, who they were and their motives. The geography over which this war is conducted. If you are a fan of European history this is a must read.


A small tip, please keep a map in handy, as it would be difficult to track the places and it’s names without a map.

One cannot understand the importance of the Rhenish palatinate without seeing a map. The dukedoms gets distributed and it’s easier to keep track of them with a map.

Grab a map, listen to the audiobook and enjoy.

Last but not least, the narration is great and kudos to the voice actor who adds great value to this wonderful classic.



A good read !

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