In recent years a much more positive view of the later Holy Roman Empire has appeared and, after years of neglect, it is now the subject of intensive research. In his chronological account of Germany from the late fifteenth century to 1806, Michael Hughes incorporates many of the results of this research (including his own work) in a new synthesis. Unlike traditional accounts, which tended to stress the fragmentation of Germany, this work treats Germany as a functioning federative state.