[.ca] The Longman Handbook of Early Modern Europe (ISBN 0582382173)

Okay chronology, but you can get that in a lot of places:
The chronologies and biographies in this book are okay, but really very basic and not enough reason to buy this book. Longman's a pretty trendy press, and this shows through in the bibliography. I must say, it is one of the most useless bibliographies of early modern Europe scholarship that I have ever seen. Short on content, long on fads. Don't let this handbook guide you.

A good reference for me:
Though not a perfect book, this is one I'm glad to have on my shelf. It includes chronologies of virtually every European country, though I had the impression the reader is assumed be already somewhat familiar with the names and terminolgies involved. Based on my interests, I particularly found beneficial the dozen or so pages describing the major wars of the period, including even the rather obscure Hungarian-Ottoman war of 1593-1606. I have a feeling that a given reader's reaction to the book will greatly depend on what he or she is looking for. For me, the book filled a niche.