Renaissance in History & Nonfiction eBooks

Shopping Cart

Item(s) unavailable for purchase

Please review your cart. You can remove the unavailable item(s) now or we'll automatically remove it at Checkout.

itemsitem

- Unlimited access to eBooks
  
  Unlimited access to audiobooks
  
  No commitment, cancel anytime at kobo.com/account/subscriptions
  
  Get 1 credit every month for the audiobook of your choice
  
  No commitment, cancel anytime at kobo.com/account/subscriptions
  
  Unlimited access to eBooks
  
  Unlimited access to audiobooks
  
  No commitment, cancel anytime at kobo.com/account/subscriptions
  Audiobook
  by ,
  
  Available:
  
  . No commitment, cancel anytime at kobo.com/account/subscriptions.
  
  Pre-order
  1 audiobook monthly
  
  + FREE 30-day trial
  
  Special Offer
  
  Get 1 credit every month to exchange for an audiobook of your choice
  
  *No commitment, cancel anytime
  
  FREE

itemsitem

Unlimited access to eBooks

Unlimited access to audiobooks

No commitment, cancel anytime at kobo.com/account/subscriptions

Get 1 credit every month for the audiobook of your choice

No commitment, cancel anytime at kobo.com/account/subscriptions

Unlimited access to eBooks

Unlimited access to audiobooks

No commitment, cancel anytime at kobo.com/account/subscriptions
Audiobook
by ,

Available:
. No commitment, cancel anytime at kobo.com/account/subscriptions.

Pre-order
1 audiobook monthly

+ FREE 30-day trial

Special Offer

Get 1 credit every month to exchange for an audiobook of your choice

*No commitment, cancel anytime

FREE

Recommended For You

The Pirate Queen

Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire

by Susan Ronald ...

“A highly colorful, swashbuckling read, one that will give you new respect for Britain’s first Elizabeth.” —Seattle TimesAn illuminating revisionist biography about Queen Elizabeth I and her merchant-adventurers who terrorized the seas, extended the Empire, and amassed great wealth for the throne.Extravagant, whimsical, and hot-tempered, Elizabeth was the epitome of power, both feared and admired ... Read more

$12.19 USD

“A highly colorful, swashbuckling read, one that will give you new respect for Britain’s first Elizabeth.” —Seattle TimesAn illuminating revisionist biography about Queen Elizabeth I and her merchant-adventurers who terrorized the seas, extended the Empire, and amassed great wealth for the throne.Extravagant, whimsical, and hot-tempered, Elizabeth was the epitome of power, both feared and admired
... Read more
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

How the World Became Modern

by Stephen Greenblatt ...

Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Non-FictionWinner of the 2011 National Book Award for Non-FictionOne of the world's most celebrated scholars, Stephen Greenblatt has crafted both an innovative work of history and a thrilling story of discovery, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of neglect, changed the course of human thought and made possible the world as we know it ... Read more

$12.99 USD

Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Non-FictionWinner of the 2011 National Book Award for Non-FictionOne of the world's most celebrated scholars, Stephen Greenblatt has crafted both an innovative work of history and a thrilling story of discovery, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of neglect, changed the course of human thought and made possible the world as we know it
... Read more
Dark Renaissance

The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival

by Stephen Greenblatt ...

National Bestseller**A New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceA Kirkus Reviews, The Economist, The New Yorker, Library Journal, BookPage, Christian Science Monitor, and Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2025“A rigorous and sparkling exploration of what makes an artist. Essential and addictive reading.” —Maggie O'Farrell, author of HamnetPoor boy. Spy. Transgressor. G... ... Read more

Was $21.89 USD Now $13.69 USD

National Bestseller**A New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceA Kirkus Reviews, The Economist, The New Yorker, Library Journal, BookPage, Christian Science Monitor, and Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2025“A rigorous and sparkling exploration of what makes an artist. Essential and addictive reading.” —Maggie O'Farrell, author of HamnetPoor boy. Spy. Transgressor. G...
... Read more
Religion and the Decline of Magic

Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century England

by Sir Keith Thomas ...

Witchcraft, astrology, divination and every kind of popular magic flourished in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the belief that a blessed amulet could prevent the assaults of the Devil to the use of the same charms to recover stolen goods. At the same time the Protestant Reformation attempted to take the magic out of religion, and scientists were developing new ... Read more

$8.19 USD

Witchcraft, astrology, divination and every kind of popular magic flourished in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the belief that a blessed amulet could prevent the assaults of the Devil to the use of the same charms to recover stolen goods. At the same time the Protestant Reformation attempted to take the magic out of religion, and scientists were developing new
... Read more
The Reformation: History in an Hour

by Edward A Gosselin ...

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour.The Reformation was a long struggle of ideas between the established Catholic Church and the questioning of faith brought about by the Renaissance in Western Europe. Started by Martin Luther in 1517, religious dissidence spread across Europe throughout the sixteenth century, causing wars, migration and disunity. By 1648 Henry VIII’s desire for ... Read more

$2.98 USD

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour.The Reformation was a long struggle of ideas between the established Catholic Church and the questioning of faith brought about by the Renaissance in Western Europe. Started by Martin Luther in 1517, religious dissidence spread across Europe throughout the sixteenth century, causing wars, migration and disunity. By 1648 Henry VIII’s desire for
... Read more
Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride

Henry VIII's Discarded Bride

by Elizabeth Norton ...

I like her not! was the verdict of Henry VIII on meeting his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, for the first time. Anne could have said something similar on meeting Henry and, having been promised the most handsome prince in Europe, she was destined to be disappointed in the elderly and corpulent king. Henry also felt that Anne was not as she had been described, complaining that he had been sent a ... Read more

$8.59 USD

I like her not! was the verdict of Henry VIII on meeting his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, for the first time. Anne could have said something similar on meeting Henry and, having been promised the most handsome prince in Europe, she was destined to be disappointed in the elderly and corpulent king. Henry also felt that Anne was not as she had been described, complaining that he had been sent a
... Read more
The Transformations of Magic

Illicit Learned Magic in the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance

by Frank Klaassen ...

Series series Magic in History
In this original, provocative, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented book, Frank Klaassen proposes that two principal genres of illicit learned magic occur in late medieval manuscripts: image magic, which could be interpreted and justified in scholastic terms, and ritual magic (in its extreme form, overt necromancy), which could not. Image magic tended to be recopied faithfully; ritual magic ... Read more

$28.79 USD

In this original, provocative, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented book, Frank Klaassen proposes that two principal genres of illicit learned magic occur in late medieval manuscripts: image magic, which could be interpreted and justified in scholastic terms, and ritual magic (in its extreme form, overt necromancy), which could not. Image magic tended to be recopied faithfully; ritual magic
... Read more
The Italian Wars 1494-1559

War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe

by Christine Shaw, Michael Mallett ...

Series series Modern Wars In Perspective
The Italian Wars 1494–1559 outlines the major impact that these wars had, not just on the history of Italy, but on the history of Europe as a whole. It provides the first detailed account of the entire course of the wars, covering all the campaigns and placing the military conflicts in their political, diplomatic, social and economic contexts.Throughout the book, new developments in military ... Read more

$65.99 USD

The Italian Wars 1494–1559 outlines the major impact that these wars had, not just on the history of Italy, but on the history of Europe as a whole. It provides the first detailed account of the entire course of the wars, covering all the campaigns and placing the military conflicts in their political, diplomatic, social and economic contexts.Throughout the book, new developments in military
... Read more
Mary Queen of Scots

In My End is My Beginning

by Dr James Mackay ...

In My End Is My Beginning is the story of Mary Queen of Scots (1542-87), the tragic heroine par excellence. Queen of an unfamiliar and troubled nation when she was a week old, it was her misfortune to be a pawn in the game of international politics throughout her life. Even in the brief period from 1561 to 1567 when she was ruler of Scotland in fact as well as in name, she was beset with problems ... Read more

$4.67 USD

In My End Is My Beginning is the story of Mary Queen of Scots (1542-87), the tragic heroine par excellence. Queen of an unfamiliar and troubled nation when she was a week old, it was her misfortune to be a pawn in the game of international politics throughout her life. Even in the brief period from 1561 to 1567 when she was ruler of Scotland in fact as well as in name, she was beset with problems
... Read more
Galileo's Mistake

A New Look at the Epic Confrontation between Galileo and the Church

by Wade Rowland ...

A provocative reexamination of Galileo’s prosecution by the Catholic Church—one of the great turning points in the history of science.The modern understanding of the notorious 1633 trial of Galileo Galilei is that of Science and Reason persecuted by Ignorance and Superstition—of Galileo as a lonely, courageous freethinker oppressed by an anti-intellectual institution fearful of losing its power ... Read more

$12.99 USD

A provocative reexamination of Galileo’s prosecution by the Catholic Church—one of the great turning points in the history of science.The modern understanding of the notorious 1633 trial of Galileo Galilei is that of Science and Reason persecuted by Ignorance and Superstition—of Galileo as a lonely, courageous freethinker oppressed by an anti-intellectual institution fearful of losing its power
... Read more
Courtesans (Text Only)

by Katie Hickman ...

This edition does not include illustrations.‘Irresistible…history at its most human. Elegant and addictively readable.’ William DalrympleDuring the course of the 18th- and 19th-century a small group of women rose from impoverished obscurity to positions of great power, independence and wealth. In doing so they took control of their lives – and those of other people – and made the world do their ... Read more

$4.62 USD

This edition does not include illustrations.‘Irresistible…history at its most human. Elegant and addictively readable.’ William DalrympleDuring the course of the 18th- and 19th-century a small group of women rose from impoverished obscurity to positions of great power, independence and wealth. In doing so they took control of their lives – and those of other people – and made the world do their
... Read more
Venice's Secret Service

Organizing Intelligence in the Renaissance

by Ioanna Iordanou ...

Venice's Secret Service is the untold and arresting story of the world's earliest centrally-organised state intelligence service. Long before the inception of SIS and the CIA, in the period of the Renaissance, the Republic of Venice had masterminded a remarkable centrally-organised state intelligence organisation that played a pivotal role in the defence of the Venetian empire. Housed in the ... Read more

$32.39 USD

Venice's Secret Service is the untold and arresting story of the world's earliest centrally-organised state intelligence service. Long before the inception of SIS and the CIA, in the period of the Renaissance, the Republic of Venice had masterminded a remarkable centrally-organised state intelligence organisation that played a pivotal role in the defence of the Venetian empire. Housed in the
... Read more
The Conquistadors: A Very Short Introduction

A Very Short Introduction

by Matthew Restall, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto ...

Series series Very Short Introductions
With startling speed, Spanish conquistadors invaded hundreds of Native American kingdoms, took over the mighty empires of the Aztecs and Incas, and initiated an unprecedented redistribution of the world's resources and balance of power. They changed the course of history, but the myth they established was even stranger than their real achievements. This Very Short Introduction deploys the latest ... Read more

$7.99 USD

With startling speed, Spanish conquistadors invaded hundreds of Native American kingdoms, took over the mighty empires of the Aztecs and Incas, and initiated an unprecedented redistribution of the world's resources and balance of power. They changed the course of history, but the myth they established was even stranger than their real achievements. This Very Short Introduction deploys the latest
... Read more
The Montefeltro Conspiracy

A Renaissance Mystery Decoded

by Marcello Simonetta ...

A brutal murder, a nefarious plot, a coded letter. After five hundred years, the most notorious mystery of the Renaissance is finally solved.The Italian Renaissance is remembered as much for intrigue as it is for art, with papal politics and infighting among Italy’s many city-states providing the grist for Machiavelli’s classic work on take-no-prisoners politics, The Prince. The attempted ... Read more

$7.99 USD

A brutal murder, a nefarious plot, a coded letter. After five hundred years, the most notorious mystery of the Renaissance is finally solved.The Italian Renaissance is remembered as much for intrigue as it is for art, with papal politics and infighting among Italy’s many city-states providing the grist for Machiavelli’s classic work on take-no-prisoners politics, The Prince. The attempted
... Read more
Financial Vipers of Venice

Alchemical Money, Magical Physics, and Banking in the Middle Ages and Renaissance

by Joseph P. Farrell ...

In this sequel to Babylon's Banskters. The banksters have moved from Mesopotamia via Rome to Venice. There, they have manipulated popes and bullion prices, clipped coins, sacked Constantinople, destroyed rival Florence, waged war, burned "heretics" and suppressed hidden secrets threatening their financial supremacy... until Giordano Bruno and Christopher Columbus, broke the banking cartel's ... Read more

$14.39 USD

In this sequel to Babylon's Banskters. The banksters have moved from Mesopotamia via Rome to Venice. There, they have manipulated popes and bullion prices, clipped coins, sacked Constantinople, destroyed rival Florence, waged war, burned "heretics" and suppressed hidden secrets threatening their financial supremacy... until Giordano Bruno and Christopher Columbus, broke the banking cartel's
... Read more
Dark History of the Catholic Church

Schisms, wars, inquisitions, witch hunts, scandals, corruption

by Michael Kerrigan ...

Series series Dark History
The world’s largest Christian organization with 1.2 billion members, the Catholic Church is one of the world’s oldest institutions and has played a crucial part in the development of Western civilization. But in its rise from Jewish sect to global faith, it has been both the persecuted and the persecutors; it has become powerful but guilty of corruption; and it has preached moral purity but has ... Read more

$8.69 USD

The world’s largest Christian organization with 1.2 billion members, the Catholic Church is one of the world’s oldest institutions and has played a crucial part in the development of Western civilization. But in its rise from Jewish sect to global faith, it has been both the persecuted and the persecutors; it has become powerful but guilty of corruption; and it has preached moral purity but has
... Read more
The Renaissance

A Short History

by Paul Johnson ...

Series Book 1 - Modern Library Chronicles
The Renaissance holds an undying place in the human imagination, and its great heroes remain our own, from Michelangelo and Leonardo to Dante and Montaigne. This period of profound evolution in European thought is credited with transforming the West from medieval to modern; reviving the city as the center of human activity and the acme of civilization; and, of course, producing the most ... Read more

$9.29 USD

The Renaissance holds an undying place in the human imagination, and its great heroes remain our own, from Michelangelo and Leonardo to Dante and Montaigne. This period of profound evolution in European thought is credited with transforming the West from medieval to modern; reviving the city as the center of human activity and the acme of civilization; and, of course, producing the most
... Read more
Oliver Cromwell (Penguin Monarchs)

England's Protector

by David Horspool ...

Series series Penguin Monarchs
Although he styled himself 'His Highness', adopted the court ritual of his royal predecessors, and lived in the former royal palaces of Whitehall and Hampton Court, Oliver Cromwell was not a king - in spite of the best efforts of his supporters to crown him.Yet, as David Horspool shows in this illuminating new portrait of England's Lord Protector, Cromwell, the Puritan son of Cambridgeshire gentry ... Read more

$2.47 USD

Although he styled himself 'His Highness', adopted the court ritual of his royal predecessors, and lived in the former royal palaces of Whitehall and Hampton Court, Oliver Cromwell was not a king - in spite of the best efforts of his supporters to crown him.Yet, as David Horspool shows in this illuminating new portrait of England's Lord Protector, Cromwell, the Puritan son of Cambridgeshire gentry
... Read more
The Firearm Revolution

From Renaissance Italy to the European Empires

by Catherine Fletcher ...

A groundbreaking account of how firearms changed Europe and the worldIn Renaissance Italy, the gun was not only a tool of war but also a desirable object, a luxury item carried at court. Guns were in use on the battlefield by 1440; later in that century Leonardo da Vinci sketched a design for a faster-firing, more portable handgun that could be hidden beneath a cloak. As the gun proliferated in ... Read more

$25.19 USD

A groundbreaking account of how firearms changed Europe and the worldIn Renaissance Italy, the gun was not only a tool of war but also a desirable object, a luxury item carried at court. Guns were in use on the battlefield by 1440; later in that century Leonardo da Vinci sketched a design for a faster-firing, more portable handgun that could be hidden beneath a cloak. As the gun proliferated in
... Read more
Germany and the Holy Roman Empire

Volume I: Maximilian I to the Peace of Westphalia, 1493-1648

by Joachim Whaley ...

Series series Oxford History of Early Modern Europe
Germany and the Holy Roman Empire offers a new interpretation of the development of German-speaking central Europe and the Holy Roman Empire or German Reich, from the great reforms of 1495-1500 to its dissolution in 1806 after the turmoil of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Going against the notion that this was a long period of decline, Joachim Whaley shows how imperial institutions ... Read more

$58.49 USD

Germany and the Holy Roman Empire offers a new interpretation of the development of German-speaking central Europe and the Holy Roman Empire or German Reich, from the great reforms of 1495-1500 to its dissolution in 1806 after the turmoil of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Going against the notion that this was a long period of decline, Joachim Whaley shows how imperial institutions
... Read more
Pepyss London: Everyday Life in London 1650-1703

Everyday Life in London 1650-1703

by Stephen Porter ...

Samuel Pepyss London was a turbulent, boisterous city, enduring the strains caused by foreign wars, the Great Plague and the Great Fire, yet growing and prospering. The Restoration in 1660 brought the reopening of the theatres, with women appearing on the stage for the first time, and the period saw the development of English opera and the first public concerts. Pepys lived through a time of ... Read more

$9.39 USD

Samuel Pepyss London was a turbulent, boisterous city, enduring the strains caused by foreign wars, the Great Plague and the Great Fire, yet growing and prospering. The Restoration in 1660 brought the reopening of the theatres, with women appearing on the stage for the first time, and the period saw the development of English opera and the first public concerts. Pepys lived through a time of
... Read more
A Concise History of Spain

by William D. Phillips, Jr, Carla Rahn Phillips ...

Series series Cambridge Concise Histories
The rich cultural and political life of Spain has emerged from its complex history, from the diversity of its peoples, and from continual contact with outside influences. This updated edition traces that history from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities. Written in an engaging style, it introduces readers to key themes that have ... Read more

$28.69 USD

The rich cultural and political life of Spain has emerged from its complex history, from the diversity of its peoples, and from continual contact with outside influences. This updated edition traces that history from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities. Written in an engaging style, it introduces readers to key themes that have
... Read more
Historia del rebelión y castigo de los moriscos del Reino de Granada

by Luis del Mármol Carvajal ...

Luis del Mármol nació en la ciudad de Granada, treinta y ocho años después de su conquista por los Reyes Católicos (1492), por lo que desde su infancia vivió en una sociedad mixta compuesta por cristianos viejos y cristianos nuevos o moriscos. Fue el primer hijo de Pedro del Mármol, escribano de cámara de la Real Chancillería miembro de una familia judeoconversa originaria de Madrid y Toledo al ... Read more

$2.36 USD

Luis del Mármol nació en la ciudad de Granada, treinta y ocho años después de su conquista por los Reyes Católicos (1492), por lo que desde su infancia vivió en una sociedad mixta compuesta por cristianos viejos y cristianos nuevos o moriscos. Fue el primer hijo de Pedro del Mármol, escribano de cámara de la Real Chancillería miembro de una familia judeoconversa originaria de Madrid y Toledo al
... Read more
The Prince

by Niccol� Machiavelli, Maurizio Viroli ...

Translated by Peter Bondanella ...

Series series Oxford World's Classics
Based upon Machiavelli's first-hand experience as an emissary of the Florentine Republic to the courts of Europe, The Prince analyses the usually violent means by which men seize, retain, and lose political power. This fluent new translation is accompanied by comprehensive notes and an introduction that dispels some of the myths associated with Machiavelli, and considers the true purpose of The ... Read more

$3.99 USD

Based upon Machiavelli's first-hand experience as an emissary of the Florentine Republic to the courts of Europe, The Prince analyses the usually violent means by which men seize, retain, and lose political power. This fluent new translation is accompanied by comprehensive notes and an introduction that dispels some of the myths associated with Machiavelli, and considers the true purpose of The
... Read more

Rakuten Kobo

eReaders

Apps

Accessories

Shopping Cart

You're getting the VIP treatment!

Your Shopping Cart is empty

Available:

1 audiobook monthly

+ FREE 30-day trial

Available:

1 audiobook monthly

+ FREE 30-day trial

Recommended For You

Renaissance eBooks

The Pirate Queen

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

Dark Renaissance

Religion and the Decline of Magic

The Reformation: History in an Hour

Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride

The Transformations of Magic

The Italian Wars 1494-1559

Mary Queen of Scots

Galileo's Mistake

Courtesans (Text Only)

Venice's Secret Service

The Conquistadors: A Very Short Introduction

The Montefeltro Conspiracy

Financial Vipers of Venice

Dark History of the Catholic Church

The Renaissance

Oliver Cromwell (Penguin Monarchs)

The Firearm Revolution

Germany and the Holy Roman Empire

Pepyss London: Everyday Life in London 1650-1703

A Concise History of Spain

Historia del rebelión y castigo de los moriscos del Reino de Granada

The Prince