""By virtually all standards, including his own, Emperor Maximilian II (1527-1576) was a failure. His challenges were many, his achievements few." So Paula Sutter Fichtner begins the introduction to this book, the first full biography in English of Maximilian. The Habsburg leader, though gifted, was never able to drive the Turks from Hungary, rationalize his government, or reunite Christendom or even its German components.

By bringing the failures of Maximilian's reign into clear focus, Fichtner illuminates the abilities and qualities of this complex man as well as the weaknesses of the expanded Habsburg empire and the problems of ruling in an age of confessional turmoil."--BOOK JACKET.