A minor Bohemian nobleman who within the space of a few years became a prince and one of the greatest landowners of his age; a military entrepreneur who twice saved the Holy Roman Emperor from disaster with armies he raised, financed and led, but was then twice dismissed; an able general who rescued the Empire from invasion by the Swedish King Gustavus II Adolphus, but was accused of planning to defect to the self-same Swedes; the emperor's commander-in-chief, but assassinated on the emperor's orders; a successful soldier who fell because he tried too hard to make peace; Wallenstein was all these things. Contemporary legends and propaganda were taken up by early biographers of this fascinating character to create a historical myth, elements of which are still present in many more recent accounts. In this book, Geoff Mortimer sets out to clarify the picture and to resolve the enigma.