Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe by Simon Winder: Used

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eBay item number:404339920001
Last updated on 19 Sep, 2025 20:20:41 BSTView all revisionsView all revisions

Item specifics

Condition
Good: A book that has been read, but is in good condition. Minimal damage to the book cover eg. ...
Publication Date
2015-01-13
Pages
576
ISBN
9781250062024
Category

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Picador
ISBN-10
1250062020
ISBN-13
9781250062024
eBay Product ID (ePID)
201666383

Product Key Features

Book Title
Danubia: a Personal History of Habsburg Europe
Number of Pages
576 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2015
Topic
Europe / Austria & Hungary, Social History, Europe / General
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
History
Author
Simon Winder
Format
Trade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height
1 in
Item Weight
15.2 Oz
Item Length
8.2 in
Item Width
5.5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Trade
Dewey Edition
23
Reviews
[Winder's] personalized, almost you-are-there view of history results in an arresting combination of anecdote and scholarly examination, where the interests of serious armchair travelers and devoted students of European history meet., As with his previous work Germania , Winder describes this account as a 'personal history', allowing him space for whimsy, for a great deal of Haydn, for careful analysis of paintings and the freedom to favour certain emperors because they were interesting people rather than political heavyweights. It all makes for an excellent, rich and amusing read., An engaging, often funny catalog of one man's eccentric enthusiasm for a country that he has come to love--somewhat to his own surprise . . . Winder is an entertaining writer, and an erudite one., A delightfully personal and engaging book . . . Winder's knowledge is as encyclopedic as his enthusiasm is childlike., [Winder] never stops talking and rarely pauses for breath. Even then, however, you want to tell him: Forget about breathing and just go on talking. Danubia is a long book, yet this reader would not mind if it were longer still., Winder's amalgam of travelogue and personal history follows on from his bestselling account of Germany, Germania , and is similarly infectious in its enthusiasms. In pages of cheerful, slang-dotted prose, Danubia dilates knowledgeably on the Habsburg dynasty as it flourished along the river from its source in Bavarian hills through Austro-Hungary and the Balkans to the Black Sea . . . Danubia is a hoot and well worth reading., In a rollicking book that is part travelogue and part history, Winder takes up the unwieldy topic of the Habsburgs. The sprawling family empire ruled much of Europe for more than centuries, owing to a combination of 'cunning, dimness, luck, and brilliance.' From the Middle Ages until the end of the First World War, Winder writes, 'there was hardly a twist in Europe's history to which they did not contribute.' Winder, whose best-seller Germania took a similar approach to German history, explores the story of the dynasty and the lasting imprint of its reign by travelling the expanse of its former empire and giving a lively account of his research. He is thorough and funny, and the book is rich with anecdotes and enthusiastic appreciation, and it includes a broad survey of the artifacts and landscapes that tell the story of the family that laid the foundation of modern Europe., Making five centuries of Habsburg history fun seems like a tall order, but Winder pulls it off. He entertains because he is entertained . . . With unrelenting wit--sometimes smirking but also self-mocking--he traces the Habsburgs' fortunes . . . What gives the text verve is Winder's ability to interweave the eccentric details of the Habsburgs themselves with an absorbing cultural history, driven by his exuberant passion for the lives and music of great composers and textured by his skillful physical descriptions of forgotten corners of the realm., Winder is a puppishly enthusiastic companion: funny, erudite, frequently irritating, always more in control of his material than he pretends to be, and never for a moment boring . . . Danubia is a moving book, and also a sensuous one: we feel the weight of imperial coins, hear and smell the 'medals and spurs clinking and everything awash in expensive gentleman's fragrances' as emperors and regiments meet at formal occasions. Winder says he researched it largely on foot, seeking out museums and castles, and listened to all 106 Haydn symphonies just to get in the mood . . . Miniaturist in its eye for detail, grand in its scope, it skips beats and keeps our attention all the way.
Dewey Decimal
943.6/03
Table Of Content
CONTENTS Maps...xv Introduction...1 Place names // The Habsburg family Chapter One...17 Tombs, trees and a swamp // Wandering peoples // The hawk's fortress // 'Look behind you!' // Cultic sites // The elected Caesars Chapter Two...51 The heir of Hector // The great wizard // Gnomes on horseback // Juana's children // Help from the Fuggers // The disaster Chapter Three...87 'Mille regretz' // 'The strangest thing that ever happened' // The armour of heroes // Europe under siege // The pirates' nest // A real bear-moat Chapter Four...117 The other Europe // Bezoars and nightclub hostesses // Hunting with cheetahs // The seven fortresses Chapter Five...147 A surprise visit from a fl ying hut // 'His divine name will be inscribed in the stars' // Death in Eger // Burial rites and fox-clubbing // The devil-doll // How to build the Tower of Babel Chapter Six...177 Genetic terrors // The struggle for mastery in Europe // A new frontier // Zeremonialprotokoll // Bad news if you are a cockatrice // Private pleasures Chapter Seven...209 Jesus vs. Neptune // The first will // Devotional interiors // The second will // Zips and Piasts Chapter Eight...243 The great crisis // Austria wears trousers // The Gloriette // The war on Christmas cribs // Illustrious corpses // Carving up the world Chapter Nine...277 'Sunrise' // An interlude of rational thoughtfulness // Defeat by Napoleon, part one // Defeat by Napoleon, part two // Things somehow get even worse // An intimate family wedding // Back to nature Chapter Ten...313 A warning to legitimists // Problems with loyal subjects // Un vero quarantotto // Mountain people Chapter Eleven...343 The Temple to Glorious Disaster // New Habsburg empires // The stupid giant // Funtime of the nations // The deal // An expensive sip of water Chapter Twelve...375 Mapping out the future // The lure of the Orient // Refusals // Village of the damned // On the move // The Führer Chapter Thirteen...411 The sheep and the melons // Elves, caryatids, lots of allegorical girls // Monuments to a vanished past // Young Poland Chapter Fourteen...439 'The fat churchy one' // Night music // Transylvanian rocketry // Psychopathologies of everyday life // The end begins Chapter Fifteen...471 The curse of military contingency // Sarajevo // The Przemysl catastrophe . Last train to Wilsonville // A pastry shell // The price of defeat // Triumphs of indifference Conclusion...505 Map of Modern Central Europe...514 Bibliography...517 Illustrations...529 Acknowledgements...533 Index...535 Maps 1. The splitting of Charles V's inheritance...xvi 2. The Habsburg Empire, 1815...xviii 3. The Dual Monarchy...xx 4. The United States of Austria...444 5. Modern Central Europe...514
Synopsis
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.

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  • by mainenewbee47
    16 Feb, 2025

    Great book about a neglected topic

    Great history about a time which needs further exploration. Great book!

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: second.sale

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