Hanlon's contribution to the history of early modern warfare is a critical one that raises more questions and lines of research than it answers, as was the author's stated intent. The author draws upon biographical sketches compiled by Italian historians during the Fascist era (an interesting persepective by itself) and ties together those findings with warfare and society of the early modern period. There are lots of numbers, graphs, and socio-cartography to illustrate the phenomenon of declining interest in military arts and science by Italian aristocrats.

A lot of time is spent on war in general, at times it seems as if too much is being recounted, without emphasis on the subject. For example, a lot of time is spent on piracy in the Mediterrean -- what the relationship to Italian aristocrats was, I never figured out (actually, I got bored and skipped on). Where the material shines is the discussion of Italian influence on the Spanish and Austrian Habsburg courts and fortunes, not just in the military sphere. Excellent coverage is given to Venice and Piedmont, two of the outstanding examples of bellicose Italian states, and why they eventually unraveled, at about the same time.

Despite the tongue in check anecdote at the beginning "Twilight" is still a bit too long, and the conclusions that the author does make drag out too much. But if you can stand to slug through to the end, the book is very satisfying in what it opens up for new lines of research during the period.