Born in England and educated at Cambridge, David Cressy has made his career in the United States, where he is George III Professor of British History and Humanities Distinguished Professor at Ohio State University. A social and cultural historian of early modern England, concerned with the intersections of elite and popular culture, central and local government, and official and unofficial religion, he has also written on literacy, kinship, calendar customs, book-burning, and the man in the moon. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Guggenheim Fellow, and recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, David Cressy is a frequent visitor to England, where he has held visiting fellowships at Churchill College, Cambridge, and at Magdalen, St. Catherine's and All Souls Colleges, Oxford.

a fascinating and highly readable study of the "weird and wonderful tale of saltpeter" Highly recommended.

• Preface ; Introduction ; 1. Mysterious Saltpeter ; 2. The Gunpowder Kingship of Henry VIII ; 3. The Elizabethan Quest for Infinity Security ; 4. Saltpeter for a Peaceable Kingdom ; 5. The Inestimable Treasure of Charles I ; 6. Saltpeter Revolution ; 7. Saltpeter for a Global Empire ; 8. The New World and the Ancien Regime ; Conclusion ; Bibliography ; Index

Born in England and educated at Cambridge, David Cressy has made his career in the United States, where he is George III Professor of British History and Humanities Distinguished Professor at Ohio State University. A social and cultural historian of early modern England, concerned with the intersections of elite and popular culture, central and local government, and official and unofficial religion, he has also written on literacy, kinship, calendar customs, book-burning, and the man in the moon. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Guggenheim Fellow, and recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, David Cressy is a frequent visitor to England, where he has held visiting fellowships at Churchill College, Cambridge, and at Magdalen, St. Catherine's and All Souls Colleges, Oxford.

a fascinating and highly readable study of the "weird and wonderful tale of saltpeter" Highly recommended.

• Preface ; Introduction ; 1. Mysterious Saltpeter ; 2. The Gunpowder Kingship of Henry VIII ; 3. The Elizabethan Quest for Infinity Security ; 4. Saltpeter for a Peaceable Kingdom ; 5. The Inestimable Treasure of Charles I ; 6. Saltpeter Revolution ; 7. Saltpeter for a Global Empire ; 8. The New World and the Ancien Regime ; Conclusion ; Bibliography ; Index

Born in England and educated at Cambridge, David Cressy has made his career in the United States, where he is George III Professor of British History and Humanities Distinguished Professor at Ohio State University. A social and cultural historian of early modern England, concerned with the intersections of elite and popular culture, central and local government, and official and unofficial religion, he has also written on literacy, kinship, calendar customs, book-burning, and the man in the moon. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Guggenheim Fellow, and recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, David Cressy is a frequent visitor to England, where he has held visiting fellowships at Churchill College, Cambridge, and at Magdalen, St. Catherine's and All Souls Colleges, Oxford.

a fascinating and highly readable study of the "weird and wonderful tale of saltpeter" Highly recommended.

• Preface ; Introduction ; 1. Mysterious Saltpeter ; 2. The Gunpowder Kingship of Henry VIII ; 3. The Elizabethan Quest for Infinity Security ; 4. Saltpeter for a Peaceable Kingdom ; 5. The Inestimable Treasure of Charles I ; 6. Saltpeter Revolution ; 7. Saltpeter for a Global Empire ; 8. The New World and the Ancien Regime ; Conclusion ; Bibliography ; Index