This latest addition to the Oxford Illustrated History series offers a substantial and beautifully illustrated history of the cultural phenomenon of the European Renaissance. In many respects it is a fairly traditional treatment of the subject, focusing on elite culture in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries in Western Europe, though there are occasional mentions of Eastern and Central Europe or of the lives of those not in the upper echelons of society. Its eleven chapters (authored by a total of fifteen eminent scholars) cover intellectual, military, religious, cultural, art and architectural, performance, literary, technological, and scientific history, before engaging with the global Renaissance.

As with any edited volume, the quality of individual chapters varies. All demonstrate the expansive knowledge base of their authors, but in some, insufficient clarity or organization somewhat obscures that impressive erudition. The intended audience of the volume may, therefore, find several of the chapters less approachable. Moreover, in many of the chapters, most notably Peter Mack's contribution on “Humanism and the Classical Tradition,” there is a disappointing lack of discussion about Renaissance women. Mack's chapter provides excellent, pithy biographies of more than two dozen European humanist thinkers but fails to include a single woman among them; surely Christine de Pizan, Isotta Nogarola, Cassandra Fedele, Laura Cereta, and others deserve mention? Female scholars, artists, performers, and other participants in Renaissance culture are of course fewer in number than their male counterparts, but they still merit attention. By this omission, many (though not all) essays in this collection seem to answer Joan Kelly-Gadol's 1977 essay “Did Women Have a Renaissance?” with a resounding “no.”

A few of the chapters, however, are excellent. Pamela Long and Andrew Morrall, in “Craft and Technology in Renaissance Europe,” not only provide a fascinating overview of a wide variety of crafts and technological shifts; they make a clear and convincing case for the convergence of artisanal and learned cultures, a distinctive Renaissance feature. In an interesting, if somewhat disjointed chapter, François Quiviger takes on the question of “The Civilization of the Renaissance.” After discussing Jacob Burckhardt, Stephen Greenblatt, John Jeffries Martin, and others who have engaged with this question, he traces an eclectic collection of themes to come to a compelling answer. The Renaissance, he argues, can be characterized by a taste for self-display, variety and abundance, and balance and control. It can also be credited with the inauguration of erotic imagery created for the male gaze (a bold claim, given the existence of ancient erotic art) and the idea that images can support imagination, represent thought, and carry ideas.

Margaret McGowan, in “The Performing Arts: Festival, Music, Drama, Dance,” manages to conjure up the elusive experience of the performing arts, not only examining the printed remnants of performances but also considering the spaces, occasions, and audiences for them. Paula Findlen, in “The Renaissance of Science,” makes a case for the importance and particularity of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century developments in science on their own merits, and also as foundational for the Scientific Revolution. Last but certainly not least, the excellent final chapter by Felipe Fernández-Armesto and Peter Burke on “The Global Renaissance” addresses two interrelated and important questions: Can we trace global influences on the Renaissance? Is the Renaissance a global phenomenon? Drawing on a wide foundation of research, they attempt to trace the entrance of non-European cultures, ideas, and technologies, but ultimately declare a strong connection difficult to establish. On the other hand, as they trace the spread of the Renaissance around the globe (an easier task), they note the critical role played by missionaries and conclude that the Renaissance was global in its effects.

In keeping with its intended general audience, the book contains no footnotes, but the back matter includes further reading lists for each chapter. Some of these are relatively short, but others would make useful starting places for undergraduate research, as they provide more substantial lists of both primary and secondary sources. The book also includes roughly one hundred color images, each accompanied by an explanatory caption, helping the reader to understand its significance to the Renaissance. Overall, the paltry discussion of Renaissance women is problematic, but several of the chapters provide accessible, informative introductions to their topics.