Books of Interest

• The Thirty Years' War by Dame Cicely Veronica Wedgwood

  This is the classic reference, at least in English, and covers the entire chronology of the war. A pure politico-military history, it is somewhat out of step with more recent ways of doing history (Wedgwood was born 1910) as well as opinionated (basically holding the German princes responsible for not pulling together), but is probably still the single best introduction to the war as well as very enjoyable read. Still in print in the UK.

• The Thirty Years' War (first published 1984, revised for 1997) edited by Geoffrey Parker and Simon Adams

  A different approach to presenting the war. It is written by a number of different authors and examines questions from all sides without any attempt to present a complete chronology except for a short summary at the end. Although I found a tiny error in the book, overall it presents a number of interesting questions and thoughts. The bibliographical essay is superb.

• The Thirty Years' War (1990) by Herbert Langer

  Translated from German this social history takes a look at what it was like for people at all levels to live their daily lives during the course of the Thirty Years War. A fascinating and important reminder of the real consequences of war.

• The Adventurous Simplicissimus by Hans Jacob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen

  Grimmelshausen who lived 1625-1676 actually experienced the war firsthand and was a pamphleteer for part of it. His fictionalized account of war refugees is riveting and was later adapted into the Bertolt Brecht play Mother Courage and Her Children. An invaluable primary source.

• The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni

  Completed in 1823, the novel whose title in Italian is I Promessi Sposi describes some of the events which occurred in northern Italy.

• Thirty Years War (1985, UK) by Peter Limm

  Said to be a useful brief introduction.

• Thirty Years' War by Theodore K. Rabb (1982, UK)

  Views of 21 authors in less than one hundred pages.

• The Thirty Years War (1971) by Joseph V. Polisenský

  Said to have a definite point of view. Translated from the Czech. Also can be found as War and Society in Europe, 1618-1648 (1971).

• Thirty Years' War, 1618-48 (UK) by Samuel Rawson Gardiner

• Gustavus Adolphus and the Thirty Years War (1963) by Charles Robert Leslie Fletcher (1857-1934)

• The Thirty Years War and the Conflict for European Hegemony, 1600-1660 (1966) by Sigfrid Henry Steinberg.

• The Thirty Years War: The Holy Roman Empire and Europe, 1618-48 (1997) by Ronald G. Asch

  I haven't seen this new one yet. The information at the other end of the link seems to indicate it touches on some previously little-visited topics such as finance and logistics.

Film

• The Last Valley (1971)

  Directed by James Clavell ("Shogun") and starring Michael Caine ("The Man Who Would Be King").
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