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Twilight of the Habsburgs: The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph | 
 enlarge | Author: Alan Palmer
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $3.99
You Save: $11.01 (73%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 512544
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Pbk. Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.6 x 1.1
ISBN: 0871136651
Dewey Decimal Number: 943.604092
EAN: 9780871136657
ASIN: 0871136651
Publication Date: February 12, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: Standard used condition.
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Product Description
No ruler in modern times reigned in full sovereignty for as long as Francis Joseph, emperor of Austria and king of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, and Slavonia. Titular master of central Europe from 1848 until 1916, he was center stage in Europe throughout the dramatic era in which Italy and Germany emerged as united nation states. His personal decisions were vital both to the outcome of the Crimean War and to the onset of World War I, sixty years later. Far more than a biography of a great ruler, Twilight of the Habsburgs is a social, cultural, political, and military history of Europe from the end of the Napoleonic era to the assassination at Sarajevo. "Just the right balance between the story of Francis Joseph's life and the history of his times." -- The New York Times Book Review; "Excellent and absorbing . . . A compelling read." -- Evening Standard (London).
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Twilight Of The Habsburgs March 16, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
As a regular reader of biographies (just finished a wonderful book on Talleyrand), was really disappointed. Found it to be tedious and disjointed - written like a college thesis, trying to impress the reader with as many facts thrown into a sentence as possible. Even though I plan a trip to Central Europe in the Fall, and am really interested in its history, I could not finish this book. Have currently ordered the John Van Der Kiste book on Franz Joseph and dearly hope it's better than this one.
 Great Reference March 25, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Not just a well written history, it truely the story of a very large and powerful family.
 A tale of a tragic but benevolent ruler. November 21, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Prior to reading this book, my knowledge of Emperor Franz Josef was mostly limited to his involvement in World War I: a staunch leader committed to preserving the Old Order whose government ultimately turned the Sarejevo crisis into an international one.
Palmer's book "The Twilight of the Habsburgs: The Life and Times of Emperor Franz Josef" changed my perspective on the Austrian monarch not by painting him as a exceptional or clever leader, which he wasn't; but simply by portraying Franz Josef as a dutiful leader whose reign and personal life was frequently marred by tragedy. Indeed, Franz Josef was keen on his empire's defeat at war at the hands of the French, Italians, and Prussians. As a result, it seems likely he never would have dragged Austria-Hungary into the Great War if it were not for the influence wielded by various ministers on the then-84 year-old emperor. Throughout his life, he was abandoned by a vacationing wife whose life was cut short by an Italian anarchists, his son committed suicide in a mysterious pact, his brother was executed after a failed bid to rule Mexico, and his nephew's assassination in Sarejevo was the saprk that ignited World War I. Indeed, the reader will find out that Franz Josef's personal life was far from a royal fairytale.
Besides the enormous tragedies experienced by Emperor Franz Josef, the changing times surrounding the Emperor's long reign (1848-1916) are nothing short of an exciting setting that may be difficult for us to fathom in the 21st century. At the dawn of Franz Josef's reign, the cavalryman was still prominent on the battlefield, Germany and Italy were mostly collections of squabbling states on his northern and southern border, and the flight of man was limited to a pipe dream. However, by the end of his career, Franz Josef lived in a world where war took to the air and a unified Germany was one of the premeir powers in the world.
The book's only flaw is perhaps more of an annoyance than a serious misgiving: Palmer translates the names of his German subjects to English, hence the reader will constantly see "Francis Joseph" instead of "Franz Josef." Perhaps he did this to appeal to wider audience, but I do beleive that anyone willing to pick up a book on an Austrian emperor is knowledgeable enough to contemplate German names.
Overall, this is an excellent book for those interested in European monarchs, the 1850-1918 time period, or a good biography.
Gently Revisionist June 4, 2004
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
Twilight of the Habsburgs is a nice biography of the Emperor Francis Joseph and his times. Francis Joseph ruled the Hapsburg lands from 1848 to 1916. He is usually seen as an obtuse, stubborn old autocrat who refused to change with the times and thus doomed his empire to collapse. Alan Palmer takes a somewhat revisionist view of the Emperor, pointing out that he had a far better mind than he is normally credited with (although handicapped by a very poor education) and was willing to make reforms when necessary (of course he rarely saw the necessity on his own). Even when he did see the need to change, he often waited until it was too late. For example, in mid 1916 he talked of pulling his country out of World War I in the spring of 1917. What if he had gone ahead and made peace in the summer of 1916? Maybe a shorter war, no Russian Revolution, no American intervention, the mind reels with the implications! But unfortunately he put that decision off and died before he could implement it.The strongest portions of this book deal with Francis Joseph's personal life. I felt sorry for the poor man, dealing in turn with a bossy mother, a flighty wife he loved dearly, a son who wasted his great abilities and committed suicide, and a host of nephews and cousins who couldn't behave themselves and certainly didn't give him the support he needed. His life was full of losses, a brother executed in Mexico, his wife assassinated, his son a suicide, and finally his nephew and heir's murder bringing on a World War. At least he had one friend, an actress he visited for years in a platonic relationship. Its nice to think of him laughing with her over coffee, it must have been the only chance he had to relax! Francis Joseph was not a brilliant or especially bright, but he did his duty as he saw it and stuck to it right to the end. It is this that makes him admirable today.
Great book! January 19, 2004
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is a splendid description of Franz Josefs life. Every ascpect is covered good, and you realy feel that you get a picture of the man and the emperor. I strongly recommend it.
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