“A remarkable book, a panorama full of astounding and memorable details, and a gripping read. No other living scholar could have organised and analysed the vast and dizzying array of source materials. Parker is both psychologically astute and sets Charles in the huge canvas against which he operated, always presenting the diplomatic, religious, structural and systemic contexts of the decisions he had to make. A monumental achievement.”

—Lyndal Roper, author of Martin Luther

"This is a splendid book. It’s well-written, engaging the reader, even while marshalling to good use a truly impressive erudition... [T]his is the only book I know that stands comparison with Brandi in that respect, and Parker covers a lot more ground."

—James D. Tracy, author of Emperor Charles V

“Emperor leaves me in awe. It is an unprecedentedly thorough imperial, and indeed, global, biography. The book marshals a breath-taking quantity of evidence, while paying meticulous attention to its quality. Brilliant.”

—Bethany Aram, author of Juana the Mad, professor of modern history at Pablo de Olavide University, Spain, and principal investigator of the interdisciplinary project An Artery of Empire: Conquest, Commerce, Crisis, Culture and the Panamanian Junction 1513-1671

“No one has understood the Habsburg emperor better than the master historian Geoffrey Parker. In this meticulously-researched and brilliantly-narrated account, Parker strikes a perfect balance, highlighting Charles’s strengths as a warrior-king together with his personal weaknesses as a family man. A tour-de-force.”

—Richard L. Kagan, author of Clio and the Crown