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A sweeping, illustrated history of Europe---a continent whose imperial ambitions, internal clashes, and existential threats are as vital today as they were during the conquests of Alexander the Great. Studded with infamous figures---from Julius Caesar to Charlemagne, and Machiavelli to Marx---Simon Jenkins' history of Europe travels briskly from the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages, and the Reformation, through the French Revolution, the World Wars, and the fall of the USSR. What emerges in this thrilling and expansive telling is a continent as defined by its continually clashing cultural identities and violent crises, as it is by its tireless drive for a society based on the consent of the governed---which holds true right up to the present day.