World Without End: The Global Empire of Philip II

The Spanish empire was the greatest the world had seen since Rome. This final volume of Hugh Thomas’s acclaimed trilogy describes how conquistadores, viceroys, nobles, inquisitors and priests ran a vast global empire stretching from the Americas to the Philippines, in an extraordinary epic of war, riches and religion.

‘Thomas paints the protagonists of empire in the richest colours … he writes almost as if he were himself a courtier relaying the gossip, trials and genealogy of the great men carving out and running Philip’s empire.’ Ben Macintyre,

The Times

‘Lively, fascinating … Thomas brings the era of Philip II to life with his customary clarity, fluency and attention to detail.’ David Abulafia,

Prospect

‘Triumphant … Had Macaulay been the historian of Mexico or Chile, he might have written like this’. Andrew Breeze,

The Tablet