Wedgwood's classic narrative (first published in 1938) traces the battles, famines, atrocities and hard-won triumphs as the conflict over whether Europe would be Catholic or Protestant raged from 1618 to 1648, running over a sizable number of people, some of whom eventually wound up ducking and running for the New World. She traces the motivations and involvement of rising and falling kings, the nascent but already powerful burgher class, and the pitiable and often-confused common folk, all of whom became involved in pitched battles that ranged from Italy to Sweden and reflected a new type of comprehensive and modern war. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)