The Man Who Sacked Rome

The Author: A graduate of Yale University, Mr. Pitts received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard. His previous publications include France and the German Problem: Politics and Economics in the Locarno Period (1987).

"Dr. Pitts' book is an important contribution to the history of early modern France and of Europe in general during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. It is also a model for the study of important transitional moments in history; Dr. Pitts has selected a story in which several major themes of the transition from medieval to modern play an important role. Finally, he has written about topics of concern to professional historians in a way that will interest the general reader as well. Many of the topics he treats I have never seen treated more clearly, succinctly and understandably. The sections on the nobility, the army and the law courts are of particular excellence, and the overall treatment of diplomatic matters is uncommonly astute. No important source has gone unexamined, and since the age was cosmopolitan, the sources are quite dispersed. The sense one gets in reading the book of the fluidity of politics and the precariousness, yet odd resilience, of states gives the book a meaning beyond its strict interpretations." (John Carey)
"...this biography of Charles de Bourbon provides scholars of the sixteenth century with a much needed revision of an important character in French history and in French political myth." (Richard Lundell, Sixteenth Century Journal)
"...this book will contribute greatly to the reader's understanding of both a notable individual and a crucial stage in the history of early modern Europe." (Thomas I. Crimando, Renaissance Quarterly)