A collection of the lectures by the historian, Geoffrey Parker. Often the Edmondson Lectures have tended to fall into one of two distinct categories: they either conveyed the results of historical research, or they constituted a synthesis of a scholar's lifetime work on a subject of major historical importance. Parker's lectures combine the two approaches as he analyzes the manner in which Philip II of Spain managed his global empire while being driven - and tragically handicapped - by an overpowering messianic complex.