Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897), was born in Basel in Switzerland where he lived and worked for virtually the whole of his life. The author of The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy, he is widely regarded as the father of Cultural History.

'Unlike other 'universal historians,' Burckhardt never closed his mind to new possibilities. He imposed no system on history. He believed, with all the real 'liberals,' ultimately in the freedom of the human will.' - Hugh Trevor-Roper 'Unlike other universal historians Burckhardt never closed his mind to new possibilities... Some tools for thinking, and the cultivation of an attitude of respect and wonder towards the heroic people who shaped history are what you get from this book.' - Andrew Vass, SATH: History Teaching Review

• Introduction. Translator's Preface 1.Antiquity 2. The Middle Ages 3. History from 1450 to 1598 4. History of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Ceturies 5. The Age of Revolution