I make it a point to pick up "Sapere" Roman history works. The writing is always well done, and the book itself is high quality with good images. This is no different.

An interesting book that has you hooked up to the end. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes ancient Roman history.

This book was first published in 1979, so it's a whole new edition now (though I have no idea if there were any changes made from the original or not). I'm not familiar with E.R. Chamberlin or his work, but as far as I read this book (got to 40%), he certainly must've had a lot of time and patience and passion for his historical research.

The Sack of Rome is a lengthy work, a whole marathon through history. Despite the clear-cut focus on Rome, Chamberlin takes the reader to learn details about the most minor things, like the personal life (including childhood and habits) of kings and popes and other relevant (and not so relevant) figures. Which can be interesting, it certainly shows commitment to the work and probably more hours than I can imagine going through papers and notes to put it all together, but it slowed down the reading to the point I couldn't force myself to continue. But that's me - I'd much rather focus on only one historical event, than learn about everything that happened before and around it, vaguely connected/leading to it or not.

Despite this personal preference, I have to admit it's admirable work, and if I had more patience at the moment I'd enjoy slowly going through it to try to remember as much details about life in the 16th century.

A truculent & rollicking account of the political and military struggles between Clement VII, Charles V and Francis I
for the control of the highly strategic duchy of Milan.

A magnificent tapestry of political shenanigans
& unbridled ambitions
that culminated in 1527 with the ruthless sack of Rome by the German
mercenaries in the pay of the Emperor.

A captivating study, full of fascinating historical details and a colourful gallery of secondary characters, this is one of my favorite studies of the 16th century Italian Wars.

A must read for anyone interested in early European Modern history!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Sapere Books for this terrific ARC