Michael Burleigh

Despite a semester overseas in England and mandatory schooling in the subject, it is to my great regret that I neglected to pay much attention to European history in college. What I did study a decade ago I've barely retained -- something I've been compensating for in years since, by way of a 45 minute subway commute that provides just enough time to get a few chapters in.

The British historian Michael Burleigh is one whose work I've discovered recently and have benefited greatly from reading. Earlier this year I finished Earthly Powers ("The Clash of Religion and Politics in Europe, from the French Revolution to the Great War") and am now working through the sequel: Sacred Causes ("The Clash of Religion and Politics, from the Great War to the War on Terror"). Both volumes are fascinating studies of European history, through the prism of church-state relations and the myriad attempts of each to assume the role of the other.