This book sets out the dramatic story of Maximilian in Mexico. It is exceptionally well written and researched. The whole adventure in Mexico was pure madness fueled by the lies of Napoleon III and entered into by a man seeking a role, a meaning and a legacy - a second son and spare heir problem in many royal families. Maximilian comes out as a man who just did not know when to stop and give up and who was seduced by the fantasies and lies of Napoleon III without ever seeming to question the emperor's motives. Maximilian seems to have never really appreciated the reality of his situation, but then again he was surrounded by sycophants. His wife's decline into madness is quite stark.