The downfall of the Habsburg monarchy was more than just the end of a great and powerful dynasty. It meant the destruction of the old European order and marked a turning point in world history.
Edward Crankshaw's distinguished study offers a compelling account of the final decades of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, leading up to WWI. At the center of the dramatic events stands the majestic figure of the Emperor Franz Josef, facing the tragedies of his disastrous marriage and the suicide of his only son, and doggedly resisting the ruin of his inheritance. In a sweeping panorama of Vienna, Imperial Russia, Napoleon's France, Bismarck's Prussia, and Cavour's Italy, Crankshaw examines the ambitions and disillusionment that broke the Empire and forged the destiny of the twentieth century.
"A good book...a superb narrative...trenchant and witty." -- The New York Times
"Sympathetic...scholarly...humane." -- Sunday Times
- ISBN10 0140064591
- ISBN13 9780140064599
- Publish Date 27 January 1983
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 25 October 2004
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint Penguin USA
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 480
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780140064599