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It's a Norman Cantor-lite -- it tries too hard, and gets bogged down in the details. It’s a solid work, with an excellent thesis, and it proves an invaluable study of the period. But if it had only been tightened up at the editing stage, it would be even more effective as a tool of scholarship, and as an enjoyable read in its own right. Slow and steady may win the race on many occasions, but sometimes you can be too slow for your own good.