Why did the Age of Renaissance begin in Italy? Why did it begin in that time period?
European history can be roughly classified into the Classical period, followed by the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution.
This 1144-page English translation (2025) of a widely acclaimed 2019 German book titled The World at First Light by Bernd Roeck examines the questions above. It is ideal for Christmas reading and worth the price of RM218.
Another book, also published in 2025 by Elizabeth Goldring, examines the life of the German-born painter Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), who is famous for his Tudor portraits.
He is the court painter to Henry VIII. This is the first scholarly English biography of him since 1913. This book is beautifully illustrated and worth the price of RM248.