The History of Switzerland [Hardcover]

John Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2007

This charming and spirited story of the extraordinary European nation begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Swiss people amongst the challenging landscape of the rugged Alps, and follows their tale through the development of feudalism, the struggle for control by warlords, the Thirty Years War, and into the aftermath of the French Revolution. First published in 1832, this is a tale of dramatic splendor performed by captivating personalities-here is a work of classic history that will delete Europhiles and students of the past alike. Scottish author JOHN WILSON (1785-1854) sometimes wrote under the pseudonym "Christopher North" for Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. He is also the author of Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life (1822), The Trials of Margaret Lyndsay (1823), and The Foresters (1825), among other works.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Cosimo Classics (December 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605200646
• ISBN-13: 978-1605200644
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,314,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Judging the book by the cover, January 22, 2008

By 

Joseph Conklin (Kentucky, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The History of Switzerland (Paperback)

This is a fine book for what it is, which is a history written in the 19th century. But look at the cover- doesn't it look fairly modern? If you buy this book expecting history into the 20th century, you will obviously be disappointed.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History in the Gibbons Style, October 21, 2007

By 

Dick from New Hampshire (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The History of Switzerland (Paperback)

Written in the 1820's, the language is very much in the style of Edward Gibbon (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire): a flowing narrative, sometimes a bit florid, with definite points of view. You will not doubt whom the author considers a good guy and whom a bad guy.

Historiography has changed much in 120 years. You will not find the details (much less the footnotes) you would expect in a modern account. On the other hand, the author covers 2000 years in only 350 pages, so there is little room for them.

All in all, a pleasant read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Difficult to read, January 2, 2011

By 

R. Henderson (Charlottesville, VA, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: History of Switzerland (Paperback)

It's an enjoyable book, if dated, but the pages are of variable quality as they were clearly just scanned into a computer. Some are literally unreadable, while others are in decent shape. There has to be a better way to get this back into print.