"...Clark has provided scholars with a reference work for Europe as a whole that will be the indispensable platform for further work on a regional or national basis. By containing so many specialized studies covering the entire early modern period in Europe, Clark's volume establishes the comparative approach as the definitive reference point. His introduction provides a valuable synthesis of the similarity, interpretive difficulty, and importance of small towns within their larger political and economic networks." Journal of Interdisciplinary History "...a many-faceted picture of urban life outside the major cities of early modern Europe. It will clearly be of interest to the economic and urban historian, and there is also much to be gleaned from it by those interested in the process of state building, the interaction of center and locality, and the evolution of consumer culture." William and Mary Quarterly "Here we have a collection of essays that advances both general history and the urban theme it addresses: specialists in the history of the European regions that are covered will welcome some very useful additions to the literature in English." Alan Dyer, Journal of Modern History
