European History

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations of works on general European history, preferably focusing on the 1800s to today. The closest I have in my library is the incredibly boring and never completed; The Transformation of European Politics, 1763-1848: Episode or Model in Modern History?

Please, please, please help me out here, I'm really desperate for something good on this time period!

Let me recommend two books: William Doyle's The Old European Order, 1660-1800 and Robert Gildea's Barricades and Borders: Europe 1800-1914.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Anyone else?!

There is The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern Europe, by T. C. W. Blanning. I don't have personal experience with the book, but I've often found other Oxford Illustrateds to be pretty good, perhaps it is worth a look.

For modern European history, I would recommend one of the works which I am currently reading now, Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt.

One of my favorite books is The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830 by Paul Johnson. It is a world history, but mostly covers Europe, and looks at various fields such as science, philosophy, music, and how these fields set in motion the beginning of what we call the modern world. Fascinating book.

If you also consider listening instead of reading I recommend the UC Berkeley podcast of History 5: "European Civilization from the Renaissance to the Present"

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details_new.php?seriesid=2008-D-39024&sem...

Otherwise consider reading Europe by Norman Davies