It should however be noted that reading is not always pleasant. The narration is sometimes quite repetitive; this is not a book that is conspicuous by its style or by the fineness of its approaches. There lengths, and although stops, dedicated to the explanation of particular institutions, are useful to the general understanding, it is easy answers, and it often results in an accumulation of victories or defeats on battlefields.
We must of course be qualified; it probably comes from a certain weariness when already knows the chronology of the period. This really is the build character operated by Bogdan. Note also a quality that not always is obvious; the author is happening with regard to any value judgments to stick to the facts.
The book is obviously not recommended any reader familiar with the subject; he will not learn anything new and will not find original approach (the course is simply chronological). For them, it is better to consult the work of Olivier Chaline the Battle of White Mountain, a new approach because warrior, or one of Claire Gantet Peace of Westphalia, for a more detailed understanding the period in social and political terms.
If you are passionate battle history, better opt for something else. Bogdan does not give a clear picture of the military campaigns; for this, preferring the sum of Henri Sacchi, which is comprehensive in the area.