content: I was initially angry at the prospect of reading this little work -- written in Manchester's seventieth year -- rather than a third and concluding volume of his monumental Churchill biography. Alas, the word is now out that there will be no third volume -- that the author lacks the will or capacity to carry on.Manchester -- together with Catherine Drinker Bowen -- is clearly the great biographer of the century. His passing from active work is a deep personal blow to one who has savored his work for more than thirty years.This ersatz volume I found to my delight to be highly engaging and insightful into the Age of Gutenberg and Michaelangelo, of DaVinci and Tyndale. This book is in the best tradition of Will Durant -- a great writer who doesn't plow new ground but places the mountain of existing literature into a context and framework.