Henry IV: King of France

“He concentrates on the military history of the times and Henri as a soldier. You get a great deal about Henri as a warrior and commander of armies. Henri was sometimes outmatched by some of the Spanish commanders like Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma. But Henri made good use of what skills he had and managed to hold his own over a very long period. Don’t forget that the civil wars only came to a close eight or ten years after Henri came to the throne, despite his conversion to Catholicism in 1593. During those years, Henri was constantly at war not only against factions of the Guises and others, but also against Spain and Savoy as well. If you’re interested in military history, you’ll find more here than you will in Babelon, including Henri’s later interest in ‘national defense’: restoring or building fortresses along the borders of France, strengthening their garrisons, and initiating infrastructure projects that would also make it easier to defend the frontiers. To this end, he built canals, roads, and bridges, all of which had both commercial and military implications. He also made efforts to rebuild the French artillery, traditionally a strong arm of the French military machine.” Read more...

The best books on Henri IV of France

Vincent Pitts, Historian