The Will to Survive describes how a small country, for much of its existence squeezed between two empires, surrounded by hostile neighbours and subjected to invasion and occupation, survived the frequent tragedies of its eventful history to become a sovereign democratic republic within the European Union. The Mongol, Ottoman, Habsburg, Nazi and Soviet empires have all since vanished; but Hungary, a victim of all five and despite suffering the consequences of being on the losing side in every war she has fought, still occupies the territory the Magyar tribes claimed for themselves in the ninth century. The author, whose interest in Hungary stems from his service there as British Ambassador during the declining years of Kadar's Communist regime, traces Hungary's story from the arrival of the Magyars in Europe to the accession of Hungary to membership of NATO and the European Union. The eleven hundred years covered by this stirring account embrace medieval greatness, Turkish occupation, Habsburg domination, unsuccessful struggles for independence, massive deprivation of territory and population after the First World War, a disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany motivated by the hope of redress, and forty years of Soviet-imposed Communism interrupted by a gallant but brutally suppressed revolution in 1956.

A feat of both scholarship and storytelling (Wall Street Journal)--the definitive history of a powerful family dynasty who dominated Europe for centuries.

In The Habsburgs, Martyn Rady tells the epic story of a dynasty and the world it built--and then lost--over nearly a millennium. From modest origins, the Habsburgs gained control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fifteenth century. Then, in a few decades, their possessions rapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe, stretching from Hungary to Spain, and parts of the New World and the Far East. The Habsburgs dominated Central Europe through the First World War. 

Historians often depict the Habsburgs as leaders of a ramshackle empire. But Rady reveals their enduring power, driven by the belief that they were destined to rule the world as defenders of the Roman Catholic Church, guarantors of peace, and patrons of learning. This is the remarkable history of a dynasty that forever changed Europe and the world. 

Lukacs's book is a lyrical, sometimes dazzling, never merely nostalgic evocation of a glorious period in the city's history. . . . {His} true sympathy lies . . . not with the famous expatriates, but with the writers and intellectuals who lived and died at home: the poets Endre Ady and Mihaly Babits; the novelists Ferenc Herczeg, Sandor Hunyady, Frigyes Karinthy, Dezso Kosztolanyi, Gyula Krudy, Kalman Mikszath, and Zsigmond Moricz; the political essayist DezsoSzabo; the playwright Erno Szep; the literary historian Antal Szerb; and others. . . . {John Lukacs} sets out to explain Hungarian literature to English-speaking readers. Though I have no idea whether or not he will succeed, few interpreters of Hungarian literature have made a more touching and eloquent attempt. -- The New York Review of Books

A National Book Award Finalist

A riveting (New York Times) look at one year of Viennese life during the twilight of an empire

On January 30, 1889, at the champagne-splashed hight of the Viennese Carnival, the handsome and charming Crown Prince Rudolf fired a revolver at his teenaged mistress and then himself. The two shots that rang out at Mayerling in the Vienna Woods echo still.

Frederic Morton, author of the bestselling Rothschilds, deftly tells the haunting story of the Prince and his city, where, in the span of only ten months, the Western dream started to go wrong. In Rudolf's Vienna moved other young men with striking intellectual and artistic talents--and all as frustrated as the Prince. Among them were: young Sigmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Theodor Herzl, Gustav Klimt, and the playwright Arthur Schnitzler, whose La Ronde was the great erotic drama of the fin de siecle. Morton studies these and other gifted young men, interweaving their fates with that of the doomed Prince and the entire city through to the eve of Easter, just after Rudolf's body is lowered into its permanent sarcophagus and a son named Adolf Hitler is born to Frau Klara Hitler.

The definitive history of a powerful family dynasty who dominated Europe for centuries -- from their rise to power to their eventual downfall.
In The Habsburgs, Martyn Rady tells the epic story of a dynasty and the world it built -- and then lost -- over nearly a millennium. From modest origins, the Habsburgs gained control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fifteenth century. Then, in just a few decades, their possessions rapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe, stretching from Hungary to Spain, and parts of the New World and the Far East. The Habsburgs continued to dominate Central Europe through the First World War.
Historians often depict the Habsburgs as leaders of a ramshackle empire. But Rady reveals their enduring power, driven by the belief that they were destined to rule the world as defenders of the Roman Catholic Church, guarantors of peace, and patrons of learning. The Habsburgs is the definitive history of a remarkable dynasty that forever changed Europe and the world.

The Bridge at Andau is James A. Michener at his most gripping. His classic nonfiction account of a doomed uprising is as searing and unforgettable as any of his bestselling novels. For five brief, glorious days in the autumn of 1956, the Hungarian revolution gave its people a glimpse at a different kind of future--until, at four o'clock in the morning on a Sunday in November, the citizens of Budapest awoke to the shattering sound of Russian tanks ravaging their streets. The revolution was over. But freedom beckoned in the form of a small footbridge at Andau, on the Austrian border. By an accident of history it became, for a few harrowing weeks, one of the most important crossings in the world, as the soul of a nation fled across its unsteady planks.

Praise for The Bridge at Andau

Precise, vivid . . . immeasurably stirring.--The Atlantic Monthly

Dramatic, chilling, enraging.--San Francisco Chronicle

Superb.--Kirkus Reviews

Highly recommended reading.--Library Journal

Thunder at Twilight is a landmark historical vision, drawing on hitherto untapped sources to illuminate two crucial years in the life of the extraordinary city of Vienna-and in the life of the twentieth century.

It was during the carnival of 1913 that a young Stalin arrived in Vienna on a mission that would launch him into the upper echelon of Russian revolutionaries, and it was here that he first collided with Trotsky. It was in Vienna that the failed artist Adolf Hitler kept daubing watercolors and spouting tirades at fellow drifters in a flophouse. Here Archduke Franz Ferdinand had a troubled audience with Emperor Franz Joseph-and soon the bullet that killed the Archduke would set off the Great War that would kill ten million more.

With luminous prose that has twice made him a finalist for the National Book Award, Frederic Morton evokes the opulent, elegant, incomparable sunset metropolis-Vienna on the brink of cataclysm.

AN ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - A vivid and enthralling account of the historical and cultural events that defined Budapest, a unique city in the heart of Europe, on the fault line between East and West--from the critically acclaimed author of Lenin

A compelling portrait of one of the most important cities in Europe. Full of sharp insights, elegant writing and vivid characters. --Andrew Roberts, author of The Chief

Victor Sebestyen has written a sweeping, colorful and immersive history of the capital of Hungary, from the fifth century to the present day: a metropolis whose location in Europe has marked it as a crucial city--at times rich and prosperous, at times enduring unbearable hardship. It has stood at the center of the world-changing historical developments for hundreds of years: the Muslim invasion, The Reformation, both World Wars, fascism, the Holocaust and Communism.

Sebestyen mixes colorful details and anecdotes about the people, streets and neighborhoods of his hometown with its rich cultural legacy of literature, music, and architecture. He shows how its people have shifted culturally, politically and emotionally between East and West, through many revolutions, bloody battles, uprisings, and wars of conquest won and lost. He vividly brings to life the many rulers: the ruthless early Magyar, Hun, and Mongol chieftains, celebrated medieval kings and princes, Ottoman Turks, and the Hapsburgs, including the beloved Empress Elisabeth (Sisi). We also learn about colorful figures in politics, the arts and the sciences, among them Theodor Herzl, father of modern political Zionism; film pioneer Alexander Korda who held court with the director of Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, young reporter Billy Wilder, and photographer Robert Capa in the glamorous New York Café still going today; Edward Teller, inventor of the H bomb; and Countess Elisabeth Báthory, a cousin of the King of Poland, who became a serial killer, among many others.

Sebestyen's compelling history of Budapest is a lively page-turner as well as being uniquely revelatory and authoritative account of one of the most important cities of Europe.

A beguiling exploration of the last Habsburg monarchs' grip on Europe's historical and cultural imagination.

In 1919 the last Habsburg rulers, Emperor Karl and Empress Zita, left Austria, going into exile. That same year, the fairy-tale opera Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman Without a Shadow), featuring a mythological emperor and empress, premiered at the Vienna Opera. Viennese poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal and German composer Richard Strauss created Die Frau ohne Schatten through the bitter years of World War I, imagining it would triumphantly appear after the victory of the German and Habsburg empires. Instead, the premiere came in the aftermath of catastrophic defeat.

The Shadow of the Empress: Fairy-Tale Opera and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy explores how the changing circumstances of politics and society transformed their opera and its cultural meanings before, during, and after the First World War.

Strauss and Hofmannsthal turned emperors and empresses into fantastic fairy-tale characters; meanwhile, following the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy after the war, their real-life counterparts, removed from political life in Europe, began to be regarded as anachronistic, semi-mythological figures. Reflecting on the seismic cultural shifts that rocked post-imperial Europe, Larry Wolff follows the story of Karl and Zita after the loss of their thrones. Karl died in 1922, but Zita lived through the rise of Nazism, World War II, and the Cold War. By her death in 1989, she had herself become a fairy-tale figure, a totem of imperial nostalgia.

Wolff weaves together the story of the opera's composition and performance; the end of the Habsburg monarchy; and his own family's life in and exile from Central Europe, providing a rich new understanding of Europe's cataclysmic twentieth century, and our contemporary relationship to it.

This book offers a comprehensive thousand-year history of the land, people, society, culture and economy of Hungary, from its nebulous origins in the Ural Mountains to the 1988 elections. It tells above all the thrilling story of a people who became a great power in the region and then fought against--and were invaded by--Ottomans, Germans and Soviets. The Hungarian people preserved nevertheless a continuous individuality through their Ural-born language and a specifically Hungaro-European culture.

Now recognised as the standard work on the subject, Realm of St Stephen is a comprehensive history of medieval Eastern and Central Europe. Pal Engel traces the establishment of the medieval kingdom of Hungary from its conquest by the Magyar tribes in 895 until defeat by the Ottomans at the Battle of Mohacs in 1526. He shows the development of the dominant Magyars who, upon inheriting an almost empty land, absorbed the remaining Slavic peoples into their culture after the original communities had largely disappeared.

LONGLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE, A CHARMINGLY PERSONAL HISTORY OF HABSBURG EUROPE BY THE AUTHOR OF GERMANIA

From the end of the Middle Ages to the First World War, Europe was dominated by one family: the Habsburgs. Their unprecedented rule is the focus of Simon Winder's vivid third book, Danubia.

Winder's approach is friendly, witty, personal; this is a narrative that, while erudite and well researched, prefers to be discursive and anecdotal. In his survey of the centuries of often incompetent Habsburg rule which have continued to shape the fate of Central Europe, Winder does not shy away from the horrors, railing against the effects of nationalism, recounting the violence that was often part of life. But this is a history dominated above all by Winder's energy and curiosity. Eminently readable and thrillingly informative, Danubia is a treat that readers will be eager to dip into.

From the Congress of Vienna to the Austria World Summit, the city of Vienna has hosted key meetings on peace to climate action. This is a first-class book about Vienna as the crossroads of civilization and as the international capital. --Arnold Schwarzenegger

A pleasure to read and a journey of discovery even for those who know this city well.--Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen

Vienna's global standing in history, culture, and groundbreaking social policy is wonderfully captured in this book.--Vienna Mayor and Governor Michael Ludwig

A rich and illuminating history of the world capital that has transformed art, culture, and politics.

Vienna is unique amongst world capitals in its consistent international importance over the centuries. From the ascent of the Habsburgs as Europe's leading dynasty to the Congress of Vienna, which reordered Europe in the wake of Napoleon's downfall, to bridge-building summits during the Cold War, Vienna has been the scene of key moments in world history.

Scores of pivotal figures were influenced by their time in Vienna, including: Empress Maria Theresa, Count Metternich, Bertha von Suttner, Theodore Herzl, Gustav Mahler, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, John F. Kennedy, and many others. In a city of great composers, artists, and thinkers, it is here that both the most positive and destructive ideas of recent history have developed.

From its time as the capital of an imperial superpower, through war, dissolution, dictatorship to democracy Vienna has reinvented itself and its relevance to the rest of the world.

'Captain Charles Kennedy' parachuted into a moonlit Austrian forest and searched frantically for his lost radio set. His real name was Leo Hillman and he was a Jewish refugee from Vienna. He was going home.

Men and women of Churchill's secret Special Operations Executive worked to free Austria from Hitler's grip. Many were themselves Austrians who had fled Nazi persecution. Trained and equipped by SOE, they courageously returned to their homeland. Some died in the attempt. Their moving stories are part of the history of how Austria recovered her sovereignty.

With a Foreword by Michael Zimmerman, Austrian Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

An updated new edition of a classic history of the Hungarians from their earliest origins to today

In this absorbing and comprehensive history, Paul Lendvai tells the fascinating story of how the Hungarians, despite a string of catastrophes and their linguistic and cultural isolation, have survived as a nation for more than one thousand years. Now with a new preface and a new chapter that brings the narrative up to the present, the book describes the evolution of Hungarian politics, culture, economics, and identity since the Magyars first arrived in the Carpathian Basin in 896. Through colorful anecdotes of heroes and traitors, victors and victims, revolutionaries and tyrants, Lendvai chronicles the way progressivism and economic modernization have competed with intolerance and narrow-minded nationalism. An unforgettable blend of skilled storytelling and scholarship, The Hungarians is an authoritative account of this enigmatic and important nation.

Discover the captivating history of Europe's second-oldest dynasty-the Habsburgs!

The Habsburg family ruled central Europe since the early medieval times to World War I, but they still exist as one of the most prestigious Austrian families. Although the family once ruled the largest territory in Europe, it has been reduced to a wealthy family who has all but forgotten their past. But to keep themselves in such high positions, the Habsburgs had to develop unique strategies to fight their political enemies. They wanted to rule the world and saw themselves as the only dynasty worthy of such divine right. To keep the family pure, they often married within their family, which resulted in a very weak genetic pool and many mental and physical problems.

In this book, you will discover what the Habsburg jaw is, how one family envisioned the European Union, and how conservatism can ruin an empire. The story of the Habsburg family transcends the ages, and each member who once ruled was a unique persona, deserving of our attention.

The dynasty ruled the Holy Roman Empire for the longest, and even when they lost it, they were capable of founding their own: the Austrian Empire. However, like any other family, they had problems of their own, which led to intrigues, arguments, and splits. Learn how the Habsburg family divided and how they ruled Spain as well as central Europe until King Charles the Cursed died, leaving no heir.

And finally, this book will show you the truth behind the murder of Franz Ferdinand and the start of World War I, making you wonder if the Habsburg Empire ever had to end. What would the future of Europe be like if the nations were still united under one ruler? And is it possible for so many nations to share the same government, culture, and history?

Follow the Habsburgs through the centuries of their existence and discover:

• Who were the Habsburgs, and where did they come from?
• Personal traits of various Habsburg rulers
• The family feuds and religious and national splits
• The cultural influence of the Habsburgs on Europe
• The governmental innovations of different Habsburg rulers
• The enlightened rulers of central Europe
• Maria Theresa, one of the strongest Habsburg rulers
• How did the end of the Holy Roman Empire come about?
• How did a Bosnian-Serb bring about the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire?
• Where are the Habsburgs today?
• And much more!

Scroll up and click the add to cart button to learn more about the history of the Habsburg Empire!

The Habsburgs: A Dynastic Journey through European History

If you want to witness the rise and fall of a dynasty that shaped Europe without the dryness of textbooks, then keep reading...

Why This Book?

Delve into the sprawling saga of the Habsburg dynasty, whose influence was felt across Europe for over six centuries. From their humble beginnings to their dramatic decline during World War I, this book provides a captivating look at the rulers who sat at the heart of European power and intrigue.

What Sets This Book Apart:

Cultural Influence: Explore how the Habsburgs were patrons of the arts, turning Vienna into a cultural powerhouse during the Renaissance.Diplomatic Mastery: Unravel the web of strategic marriages that extended their power across Europe, ensuring their dominance through shrewd alliances.Military and Religious Might: From the battlefields of the Thirty Years' War to their staunch defense of Catholicism, discover the dual pillars of their power.Dynastic Marriages: Understand why matrimony was not merely a matter of the heart but a cornerstone of their political strategy.Global Empire: Marvel at the vast Habsburg realm, from the Americas to the Far East, illustrating their unprecedented influence.

Why You Can't Miss This Journey:

Through engaging narrative and vivid detail, this book doesn't just recount facts but brings the personalities and dramatic events of the Habsburg era to life. Witness the complex interplay of relationships and rivalries that dictated the political landscape of an entire continent.

Your Invitation:

Embark on a riveting journey through time with The Habsburgs. This book isn't just a window into the past; it's a doorway into the lessons of leadership, conflict, and ambition that shaped not just a dynasty, but the whole of Europe.

If you want to discover the captivating history of Austria, then keep reading...

When Austrian President Franz Jonas visited the Vatican in 1971, Pope Paul VI named Austria the Island of the Blessed. He did so to emphasize Austria's steep recovery. Only twenty-five years had passed since the end of the Second World War, and Austria was already one of the most prosperous European countries.

One might argue that Austria was always a rich country, and during the times of its Habsburg rulers, it certainly was. But after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was lost between two worlds-its German heritage and its multi-ethnic nation. As such, it was easy for Nazi Germany to hijack Austria, integrate it in its anti-Semitic scheme, and make it defy the whole Western world. Austria was deeply involved in the atrocities of World War II, but somehow, it managed to rise above it quicker than anyone would expect.

Since its beginning as the Eastern March, through the rise of its ruling Habsburg dynasty, and through many ideological and ethnic wars, Austria managed to maintain its unique personality, although it never really had a strictly defined identity. It is no wonder many scholars like to describe the history of Austria as one without a nation. In modern society, it is not always clear how a country could exist without a nation, so if you are curious to understand how this is possible, continue reading to understand the complex series of events that led to the foundation of modern-day Austria and the modern Austrian identity.

Read Captivating History's History of Austria to discover the incredible impact this small country had on central Europe, as well as:

• When Austria was first mentioned by its name Österreich
• The Roman Lime and how it related to Austria
• The Babenbergs, the earliest rulers of Austria
• How the Habsburgs took over the rule
• What A.E.I.O.U. stands for and how it translates to the divine right to rule
• Learn all about the Habsburgs as Holy Roman emperors
• How Austria dealt with the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation
• The enlightened rulers of the Habsburg Empire
• How the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary came to be
• Learn more about the revolution in central Europe and the rise of the Slavs
• Who shot Franz Ferdinand and how the Great War really started
• How Austria joined Germany and became a Nazi state
• Learn about the steep rise of Austria as one of the richest and most socially secure European states

Scroll up and click the add to cart button to learn more about the History of Austria!

Admiral Horthy's political career spanned a good part of the first half of the twentieth century, yet he was by no means a modern statesman. The most familiar image we have of him is the man on horseback, a throwback to an earlier age. His social and political views reflected a yearning for a Europe untouched by the doctrines of the French Revolution. His concepts of gentlemanly honor and chivalry had their roots in the Middle Ages.

Where does Miklós Horthy stand in relation to contemporary European leaders? What does a study of his career reveal about Hungarian, and in a broader sense, European history in the era of the two world wars? Although in some ways Horthy as a statesman was sui generis, he does resemble other Europeans who were products of the political and intellectual milieu of the late nineteenth

century and for whom World War I and its revolutionary aftermath were a traumatic experience.

Interwar Hungary had to balance precariously between the two most sinister totalitarian regimes of world history. In the ultimately hopeless task of preserving Hungarian independence while at the same time working toward a revision of the hated Treaty of Trianon, Horthy at times tilted dangerously toward Nazi Germany. But in the end he always shrank from the employment of totalitarian methods in Hungary. Several times in the late 1930s and at any point in World War II, Horthy could have used his immense power and authority to establish a pro-German, radical right-wing government in Hungary.

But he did not give his approval, for he had a fundamental, if sometimes grudging, respect for Hungarian political traditions. Horthy made it possible for the adherents of democratization, liberalism, parliamentary government, and social reform to maintain a precarious foothold in Hungarian society, so that when the totalitarian tide eventually receded from Hungary, they would be on hand to take part in the rebuilding of the country.

The Habsburgs are the most famous dynasty in continental Europe. From the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries, they ruled much of Central Europe, and for two centuries were also rulers of Spain. Through the Spanish connection, they acquired lands around the Mediterranean and a chunk of the New World, spreading eastwards to include the Philippines. Reaching from South-East Asia to what is now Ukraine, the Habsburg Empire was truly global.

In this Very Short Introduction Martin Rady looks at the history of the Habsburgs, from their tenth-century origins in Switzerland, to the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire in 1918. He introduces the pantheon of Habsburg rulers, which included adventurers, lunatics, and at least one monarch who was so malformed that his true portrait could never be exhibited. He also discusses the lands and kingdoms that made up the Habsburg Empire, and the decisive moments that shaped their history. Dynasty, Europe, global power, and the idea of the multi-national state all converge on the history of the Habsburg Empire. Martin Rady shows how.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.