This is the first English translation of important writings on the Thirty Years' War by the great Soviet historian B.F. Porshnev. Dukes has selected the most enlightening areas of Porshnev's unparalleled research to fill a crucial gap in our understanding of the conflict, and has set Porshnev's work firmly in context with a comprehensive introduction and evaluation. A significant reinterpretation of a fascinating period, the book will interest Russian specialists and those working generally around seventeenth century European history.