bThe creator of the hit podcast series iTides of Historyi and iFall of Romei explores the four explosive decades between 1490 and 1530, bringing to life the dramatic and deeply human story of how the West was reborn.b pIn the bestselling tradition of iThe Swerve iand iA Distant Mirrori, THE VERGE tells the story of a period that marked a decisive turning point for both European and world history. Here, author Patrick Wyman examines two complementary and contradictory sides of the same historical coin the world-altering implications of the developments of printed mass media, extreme taxation, exploitative globalization, humanistic learning, gunpowder warfare, and mass religious conflict in the long term, and their intensely disruptive consequences in the short-term. pAs told through the lives of ten real people--from famous figures like Christopher Columbus and wealthy banker Jakob Fugger to a ruthless small-time merchant and a one-armed mercenary captain--THE VERGE illustrates how thei