The Pursuit of Glory brings to life one of the most extraordinary periods in European history - from the battered, introvert continent after the Thirty Years War to the dynamic one that experienced the French Revolution and the wars of Napoleon. In his provocative book, Tim Blanning depicts the lives of ordinary people and the dominant personalities of the age (Louis XIV, Frederick the Great, Napoleon), and the preoccupations of the time, from art and hunting to the obsessive pursuit of glory - whether their own or their nation's - by Europe's elite. He explores an era of almost unprecedented change, growth and cultural, political and technological ferment that shaped the societies and economies of entire countries. The Pursuit of Glory is a rich evocation of this vivid and magnificent age.