The Last Knight of Malta

German scholars Freller and Von Trauchburg present a biography of Joseph Maria von Rechberg (1769-1833), one of the last knights of the Order of Malta who fully embodied and lived the virtues of the institution. Through his military career and direct participation in key events of the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, he was an eyewitness to many of the major upheavals of the time, including the Algiers campaign of 1784, the French invasion of Malta in 1798, and the Napoleonic wars. The text is based on extensive research in a number of archives and libraries in Europe, including material from the Rechberg family documents, Rechberg's own letters, and the diary he kept during the Algiers campaign. No subject index. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)