Europe and the Making of Modernity: 1815-1914

...this is an INVALUABLE book. It covers all of A SPRITE (artistic, social, political, religious, intellectual, technological, and economic), provides stories, primary documents and great pictures and charts, and is a pretty easy read. But please note I didn't say it was an ENJOYABLE read. It is a truly academic work, not written for mass, "fun" consumption. I read it to better prepare for teaching my AP Euro class and then had it on a grad school book list- it is a serious work. It is, at best, dry most of the time, but gets a great wealth of info across in a factual, not-editorialized way.