Customer Reviews (5)

Impressive research, but uneven discussion
Anyone with a serious interest in the late Habsburg Empire, Austria-Hungary, or Viennese culture should probably read this erudite, encyclopedic study. Johnston deserves praise for taking on a challenging subject. His extensive research and learning are obvious in the bibliography, notes, and the many names rescued from oblivion (many probably discussed here in English for the first time). Parts of this book are outstanding. That being said, I do not share the enthusiasm of other reviewers. In his search for overarching cultural forms or attitudes (such as "therapeutic nihilism"), Johnston makes too many sweeping generalizations, reducing individuals and their actions to sociological categories or cultural stereotypes. The people he describes often seem like caricatures. Not everyone in Vienna was neurotic, death-obsessed, or a dandy on the Ringstrasse. At one point he makes the far-fetched claim that the Hungarian language, by its very structure, causes Hungarians to become dreamers, disinclined to scrutinize reality. Johnston pigeonholes individuals by their ethnicity, religion, or nationality. He emphasizes conflicts among the different peoples and groups in the empire, but says little about the cultural cross-fertilization that also took place. He does recognize that the multilingual environment inspired reflection on the problems of language.

This is essentially a history of intellectual movements (who taught or influenced whom), not a social or cultural history, as the title might suggest. It does not say much about the politics of the era or the broader society (the section about Hungary is an exception). Johnston is at his best and most informative in discussing economists, legal theorists, and philosophers. The sections about philosophy and social theories are perhaps the most interesting, showing a range of thinkers, some of whom were very prescient concerning the future of Austria and Europe, and whose theories ranged from the utopian to the pessimistic to the sinister.

Johnston falters with literature and the arts. He treats Johann Strauss Jr. and his music in a rather dismissive way, seeming to overlook the fact that Strauss was a very good composer whose works quickly became popular all over the Western world and are still enjoyed more than a hundred years later. (For a better discussion of operetta as a cultural form, see Peter Hanak's book on Budapest and Vienna, "The Garden and the Workshop"). An artist as important as Oskar Kokoschka is quickly passed over in a few short paragraphs, conveying no sense at all of how Kokoschka's work developed and changed during his long productive lifetime. Other artists and works (Kolo Moser and the Wiener Werkstatte design studio, the operatic collaborations of Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss, Ernst Krenek) are not mentioned at all. This is too bad, because the art and music of this period are perhaps its most lasting legacy. By contrast, the stature of psychoanalysis has declined since the 1960s, when this book was written, and the presentation of Freud in particular seems dated.

Some details: Johnston does not translate any of the many German titles he cites, a disadvantage for those who don't read German. He often refers to the "Herrenhaus," the Upper House of Parliament, without explaining the term. He mentions Marcionism many times, but defines it only after more than two hundred pages. Ditto for Herbartianism. Readers should have some background knowledge before starting, and be prepared to question some of the author's analysis and conclusions.

This book is packed with detailed information, and we learn a great deal from it, but somehow the full color and complexity of life have gone missing. Its strength is in the details, not the synthesis. We do not come closer to understanding the forces behind the unique cultural flowering of Central Europe, and of fin-de-siecle Vienna in particular. The prodigious creativity of that place and time remain as mysterious as before.

Encyclopedic in scope
Johnston's book may not have everything that you ever wanted to know about the intellectual and cultural life of Austria-Hungary under the Hapsburgs, but if ever a single volume came close to having everything, then this is it. It has discussions of not only the "usual suspects" like Mach, Freud, Wittgenstein, but it also provides coverage of important figures in economics (i.e. Carl Menger, Schumpeter, Hayek), jurisprudence (i.e. Hans Kelsen, Karl Renner, Anton Menger), men of letters (i.e. Musil), philosophers (i.e. Schlick, Neurath, Lukacs, Buber, Ebner), music (i.e. Mahler, Schonberg), and many, many other important people. Johnston's book also covers other less well known but important figures too. For example, he covers Hans Gross, a pioneer in the development of scientific police detection.

Anyone who has already read such books as Allan Janik and Stephen Toulmins' *Wittgenstein's Vienna*, Malachi Hacohen's *Karl Popper: The Formative Years 1902-1945* or even, Edmonds & Eidinows'*Wittgenstein's Poker*, will appreciate this fascinating and well written book.

tour de force !!
This is a wonderful book for all intellectual historians, and cultural historians interested in fin-de-siecle Austro-Hungary.It's a tour de force if ever there were one!But it manages to remain accecible at the same time.

Also, while many have written about Freud, Wittgenstein, Schiele etc., Johnston talkes about the lesser known figures of the era.That is this book's niche.

MAGIC !!
This book is worth every cent, an amazingly well written and concise history of the culture, from all angles. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Wonderfully readable, enclyclopedic resource
For anyone interested in the artistic, philosophical and psychologicalimpact of Viennese culture, this is a must.Freud, Wittgenstein, Schiele,etc.Prof. of History at U. Mass., Amherst, Johnston writes clearly andwith enthusiasm.See also his illustrated _Vienna, Vienna_. ... Read more

Product Description
The appearance of the famous (and massive) volumes of Rothbard's History of Economic Thought in a new edition is cause for great celebration. They have been out of print for many years, and were previously only available at a price exceeding $200 for the set. They are at last accessible again, in beautiful hardcover, and at an affordable price.

In Economic Thought Before Adam Smith, Murray Rothbard traces economic ideas from ancient sources to show that laissez-faire liberalism and economic thought itself began with the scholastics and early Roman, Greek, and canon law. He celebrates Aristotle and Democritus, for example, but loathes Plato and Diogenes. He is kind toward Taoism and Stoicism. He is no fan of Tertullian but very much likes St. Jerome, who defended the merchant class. Now, that takes us only to page 33, just the beginning of a wild ride through the middle ages and renaissance and modern times through 1870.

Rothbard read deeply in thinkers dating back hundreds and thousands of years, and spotted every promising line of thought — and every unfortunate one. He knew when an idea would lead to prosperity, and when it would lead to calamity. He could spot a proto-Keynesian or proto-Marxist idea in the middle ages, just as he could find free-market lines of thought in ancient manuscripts.

Many scholars believe this was his most important work. The irony is that it is not the work it was supposed to be, and thank goodness. He was asked to do a short overview of the modern era. He ended up writing more than 1,000 pages of original ideas that remade the whole of intellectual history up through the late 19th century.

Once Rothbard got into the project, he found that most all historians have made the same error: they have believed that the history of thought was a long history of progress. He found that sound ideas ebb and flow in history. So he set out to rescue the great ideas from the past and compare them with the bad ideas of the "new economics."

His demolition of Karl Marx is more complete and in depth than any other ever published. His reconstruction of 19th-century banking debates has provided enough new ideas for a dozen dissertations, and contemporary real-money reform. His surprising evisceration of John Stuart Mill is cause to rethink the whole history of classical liberalism.

Most famously, Rothbard demonstrated that Adam Smith's economic theories were, in many ways, a comedown from his predecessors in France and Spain. For example, Smith puzzled over the source of value and finally tagged labor as the source (a mistake Marx built on). But for centuries prior, the earliest economists knew that value came from within the human mind. It was a human estimation, not an objective construct.

Rothbard was a pioneer in incorporating the sociology of religion into the history of economic ideas. He saw that the advent of Christianity had a huge impact on the theory of the state. He observed the rise of absolutism and theory of nationalism that came with the reformation. He traced the changes in the Western view toward lending and interest payments over the course of a thousand years.

This set is a monument to Rothbard's genius, a resource that will be valuable to intellectuals for generations, and a great read too! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

True economics not central bank shams
This set is outstanding in its accuracy, information and applicability to the understanding of historic and present problems. It is a more detailed and complete set of works which is the basis of the book "Case Against the Fed" by the same author. Actually that smaller work might be best read first as it will, in its summary, make the larger two volume set easier to handle.

Rothbard's Triumphant Master Work
The product of a lifetime of dedicated scholarship, this is Rothbard's magnum opus.

Volume one is a breathtaking journey through time, analyzing how culture, religion, and politics have impacted upon economic thought.

Volume two contains the most devastating refutation and trenchant analysis of Karl Marx and his destructive, apocalyptic theory of Communism."

Pre-Austrian Economic History from an Austrian Perspective
This work is a tour de force of economic thought, spanning a thousand pages and nearly two millennia.

The books thesis rests on Thomas Kuhn's theory of paradigm shifts of scientific intellectuals in "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions."In these two volumes, Rothbard grinds his axe against what he would refer to as the "Whig theory of history" or the idea that history of ideas is always a progression forward.

In light of this thesis, Rothbard carefully works in progression from ancient Greek thought of Plato, Aristotle, and Xenophobe to the late 19th century works of J.S. Mill, Marx, Bastiat and Pareto.What is truly amazing is amount of time in Volume I he devotes to smaller unknown scholastics (who revived much of the work of Aristotle after finding preserved by the Arabs) overlooked by works like Lionel Robbins lectures on Economic thought and much of Hayek's contributions, which were dominated by the Scottish Enlightenment.Insomuch, Rothbard credits - like Schumpeter did - many lesser individuals which prefigured Smith, like Turgot, Cantillon and the French tradition; or the School of Salamanca and the Scholastic's who debunked the idea of a just price - based in a theoretical corpus of Natural Law (like Rothbard himself).

There are some who have taken the whole book out of context by reading only his treatment of Adam Smith - mostly because this is the most controversial section. Without context, Rothbard chapter on Smith seems to be harsh for those who consider him a great defender of liberty and lassie faire.Yet, to me, he sufficiently backs his libertarian case against Smith - as those who have actually looked into the Wealth of Nations can attest (the contradiction in Book 1 and 5 is most apparent in his description of the division of labor on one hand and alienation on the other).In fact, he continues Joseph Schumpeter's famous assessment of `das AdamSmith' problem (Schumpeter argues that Smith, in the Wealth of Nations is just carrying on a physiocrat position in `Economic Doctrine and Method'); which has plagued economic thought by misplacing an emphasis on one man as the intellectual godfather while belittling outstanding prefigures like Turgot and Cantillon, the Scholastics and post-figures such as Senior, Bastiat and Say.

It is not that Rothbard means to tear Smith's whole doctrine asunder.Rothbard admits freely that Smith was important up to a point, yet was bereft in his defense of liberty.Hence Smith doesn't measure up to his `hardcore' liberal French counterparts - for instance Turgot or Say.Rothbard illustrates this in the American tradition by quoting Thomas Jefferson as having admiration and preference for De Tracy and J.S. Say instead of Adam Smith.

A mild warning - although the book is an exhilarating history of ideas, some of the finer points may be difficult or perhaps too technical for a layman.Rothbard has particular detailed points on theoretical economic issues.(Which makes me question the familiar charge about Rothbard retreating from Economics during the 1970's - as this book was written in the 1980's) He spends some space analyzing the differences in the theory of price (between Mill, Ricardo, Smith and the French School), interest and other lengthy sections (roughly 3 chapters of the second book) on monetary theory.

In light of the 20th century textbook analysis dominated by the neo-classical tradition in the micro sphere and Keynesianism in the macro sphere, Rothbard seeks to carve out and correct misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the classics and its development into the strains of these modern ideas - evaluating them by his own Austrian standard (see Rothbard's Man, Economy and State and Human Action by L. von Mises).Yet, Rothbard is not intentionally setting up historical economists as straw men, but to show that they were pioneers - some with clearer insight than others.In effect, he shows that some economics has gotten better while other have gotten worse.

Although this book is aimed at understanding economics, these two volumes also show the depth of Rothbard as an intellectual, religious and political historian as well.Again, this work ought to be disquieting to those scholars who continually discounted Rothbard.It is this painstaking argumentation which feeds directly into his thesis and makes the work sparkle; providing relevance to the questions which still persist today and will be here tomorrow.

Brilliant work
I borrowed this work from my local university library and read it through TWICE! I am now about to order this new affordable set published by the Mises Institute so that I can not only read it through again but have as a constant source of reference. A brilliant work! ... Read more

Product Description

Austrian economist, Ludwig von Mises, was one of the most original and controversial economists of the 20^th century, both as a defender of free-market liberalism and a leading opponent of socialism and the interventionist-welfare state. He was both the grant designer of a political economy of freedom and a trenchant, detailed critic of government regulatory and monetary policies in the first half of the 20^th century.

This fascinating book explores the cultural currents of anti-Semitism in Austria before and after the First World War that Mises confronted as an Austrian Jew; his analysis of Austria-Hungary’s establishment of a gold standard; Mises’ multi-sided activities in the years after the World War I in stemming a hyperinflation, opposing government fiscal mismanagement, and resisting misguided policies during the Great Depression; and his analysis of how Europe plunged into World War II and the policies to restore freedom and prosperity in the post-war period. It also discusses the confrontation between the Austrian Economists and the Keynesians over the causes and cures for the Great Depression, as well as how Mises’ "Austrian" approach to money and the business cycle contrasted with both the ideas of Joseph A. Schumpeter and the Swedish Economists of the interwar period.

This volume breaks new ground in placing Ludwig von Mises’ many original views on political economy, public policy and monetary economics in the historical context of his time, especially during the interwar period when he was a senior economic analyst for the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and after his arrival in America during World War II. The book will therefore be of interest to students and researchers in monetary economics, political economy, expectations theory and the market process, and the history of economic thought.

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Customer Reviews (10)

The myth of inevitability
The book covers mainly the endgame, the last century of the Habsburg Dynasty, therulers of the Austrian and Hungarian double monarchy. As a look at a map of the time will show us, even the name of that monarchy is phony. The entity was `a collection of provinces accidentally ruled by the same prince'. It was a European superpower at its time and any confusion with the current respectable but modest countries Austria and Hungary would be going in the wrong direction. It was a part of an instable balance of powers: the Turks, Russians, French, and in the last phase the Prussians were all competing for overlapping areas of influence.
The period starts with the end of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which was smashed into pieces by Napoleon's France. This `holy' empire had a Habsburg at its top, as Kaiser, for most of its time. When it ended, a new German Confederation was started, without a comparable nominal head, and with Austria and Prussia as twin leaders. The struggle between the two was won by Prussia, who established a new German Empire, leaving the Habsburgs to their now `Austrian Hungarian' empire.

The main theme of the book is the struggle of this supranational structure against the growing phenomenon of the `nation'. The ghost of nationalism had been awakened by Napoleon's raids across the continent. This had to come to a clash with the Habsburgs: `In other countries, dynasties are episodes in the history of the people; in the Habsburg Empire peoples are a complication in the history of the dynasty'.

It could have been such an interesting book. Alas, it is not quite so interesting. It is useless as an introduction or summary to the subject due to the author's habit of not telling or explaining, but assuming things to be known and referencing them like in a discussion of their meaning, with peers who share the same information level. I remember quite a few `history books' written in that method. AJPT clearly had no didactic intentions with this book (despite his quaint suggestions for pronunciation of Hungarian or Czech name).
The book is organizing its vast material by chronological chapters, which is a recipe for confusion. It might have worked better if it had been organized according to subject matters. It focuses heavily on individual leaders, like Metternich, without really giving them a profile. It treats a huge issue like the earthshaking 1848 revolution, which caused a level of chaos that had not yet been solved a hundred years later, at the time when the book was written, without going into the causes that started it.
The book is far too short for its subject, or, from the other angle, much too stuffed with facts, without the clear line of thought.

Did Taylor try to prove something? It seems so. He starts on the first text page with his basic philosophy: the defeat of the supranational structure against the rising forces of nationalism was `inevitable'. He declares that all thoughts about missed opportunities to avoid the destruction are `liberal illusions'.
Now, it may very well be that the Habsburgs were a lost cause, that they stood no chance to keep up their rule against the trends of time. But is that the same as `inevitability'? From what I know of Taylor's writings about the Nazis (I have not read his other books, but have read about him), he also uses this `inevitability' concept for the Nazi take over from Weimar's defeat.
I object strongly against the thought that any historical development is `inevitable'. Of course, once it has happened, it can't be avoided any more. We may be into hindsight reasoning here.
Historical inevitability is a foundation stone of Hegelianism and its offspring, Marxism. Taylor seems to represent the rightwing shoot of that school. The idea that laws of history dominate the development of the world is in essence totalitarian and anti-political.

Apart from this basic displeasure of mine, I find the book sometimes boring in its casual way of amassing facts, sometimes thrilling, when it comes up with sometimes brilliant sentences that encapsulate real insights.
I am easily annoyed by small things. Take this trifle: in German, a Kreis can be two things, it can be a circle, and it can be a district, in the sense of a subdivision of a province. In the Habsburg Empire, the Kreishauptmann was a key administration official (if I am not mistaken, the main Trotta character in Roth's Radetzkymarsch is a Kreishauptmann), translated as a district governor or president. (If you ask Google's translation tool, it gives you `governor'.) Taylor translates it as Captain of the Circle. That is either a howler which somehow puts the man's understanding of his subject in doubt, or it is a very deep insight into historical developments, in the sense that the political division `Kreis' is derived from ancient concepts of dividing an area into circles under sub-leaders. I suspect the former.

Dinosaurs Ruled the World ...
Well, in fact, they didn't, though they were enormously successful in their evolutionary adaptations for more millions of years than primates can claim. If 'anyone' ruled the biosphere in the Jurassic or Cretaceous eras, it was bacteria. They came before, they will persist after; we vertebrates need them but they don't need us, we're just a hypertrophied transportation system for them. Bacteria, broadly defined including the archaeans, outweigh all animals, funghi, and plants combined in the biomass; bacteria determine the 'history' of Life.

So what does this have to do with the Habsburg Monarchy? I have an earnest analogy in mind. Empires, dynasties, dictators, long and short parliaments and congresses may metaphorically 'rule the world' - especially as seen from the top - but they are merely delivery systems for "us", the menu peuple, the plain grubby human bacteria of societies. History is made from the soil up. If ever an empire might be compared to a dinosaur, nevertheless, it was Kakania (the kaiserlich und königlich Austria-Hungary of the Habsburgs). Like the dinosaurs, the Habsburg Dynasty can hardly be called an evolutionary failure. Yes, it eventually perished, but it thrived for a very long time and 'governed' a larger portion of the planet than any other critter ever.

However, the dinosaur I'm really thinking of, in this review, isn't the Austrian Empire after all. It's this book, and the author of this book, A.J.P. Taylor, the Tyrannosaurus rex of Middle European historiography of his era. "The Habsburg Monarchy, 1809-1918" was first published in 1941, and revised in 1947. It's an old book, in short, a classic in the field, scarcely a discovery, and that's the basis for my 5-star rating. Anything else would be silly. But Taylor's kind of historiography is extinct, as extinct as the stegosaurus. Reading such a book today gives us much more insight into what people what "history" was, a few generations ago, than into anything we hope to understand about history now. Taylor's history is totally "top down", entirely focused on fifty or a hundred prominent men who held governmental powers in the Habsburg lands from the Napoleonic Wars to WW1. As such, it's extremely abstract, bloodless, ideological - a kind of 'trickle down' historiography as unreal as Reaganomics. Great Beasts don't make Life; Life makes Great Beasts. For anyone trained in 'history' at any university since the 1950s, this kind of book is a fossil, an artifact of an extinct philosophy of human events, and it provides no useful insights into Middle European history whatsoever. The previous reviewer who called it 'unreadable' was naively correct; it makes no sense because it doesn't look for what we today consider the sense of things. You could memorize every name and date in it, and still not have any sense of how such happenings happened.

So why read it all? Well, I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone as an "introduction" to Middle European history. Only someone with a broad knowledge of 19th C political history could possibly deal with it. Any specialist in German or Austrian history, any professor that is, will already know of Taylor and will probably have encountered the need to support or refute his interpretations. As I said above, the prime value of this text is not as a source about Austria-Hungary but as a source about the "history of historiography". Me, I took it on because of my current fascination with the literature that grew from the soil of Kakania - the writings of Joseph Roth, Robert Musil, Franz Kafka, Bohumil Hrabal, and half a dozen others, any of whom can be considered more 'living' historians than Taylor. Really, this book for me is a gigantic, cumbersome footnote.

Emperor vs Nationalism and the Disintegration of the Hapsburgh Empire
A.J.P. Taylor first had this book (THE HAPSBURG MONARCH:1809-1918)publsihed in 1948 whichHarper and Row republished in 1965. This book is a solid summary of the gradual disintegration of the Hapsburg Monarchy and Empire. Taylor clearly and effectively diagnosed the political and diplomatic problems that undermined the Hapsburgs by the end of World War I.

The early sections of the this book dealt with the problems the Hapsburgs faced from the 16th. to the early 19th. century. The problems of the Reformation and Counter Reformation plus the serious Turkish invasions were concisely treated and gave readers a clear historical understanding the problems the Hapsburghs faced prior to the French Revolution and the rise and fall of the Napoleanic Empire.

Taylor then introduced readers the problems the Hapsburgs faced when their armies were decisively defeated by Napoleon's armies in 1806 and 1809. These defeats showed signs of political ineptness and weakness. The "subject nationalities" were not slow to recognize these weaknesses. Taylor made clear the reason why Metternich (1773-1859)was the guiding force at the Congress of Vienna( 1814-1815). Metternich knew very well that if the subject nationalities such as the Czechs, Polish, Reuthenians (Little Russians),Serbs, Italians, etc. ever got political independence, that would be the end of the Hapsburg Empire. The Hapsburgs had to do a politcal balancing act both within their empire and with the Russians, Prussians (Nothern Germans), and some of the Italian rulers. The Quadruple Alliance worked tolerably well. However when the Hapsburg Emperor Francis died in 1835, he was replaced by Ferdinand (1835-1848)who was lazy and incompetent. Taylor made clear that Ferdinand was NOT the one to keep the Empire intact. To do so required someone who was intelligent and politically astute, and even with the most skilled political and diplomatic political figures this was difficult at best.

Ferdinand's incompetence was in part the reason for the 1848 revolutions which erupted throughout Europe and especially in the Hapsburg Empire. Franz Joseph (1848-1916) replaced Ferdinand and used the Hapsburg armies to crush rebellions in Austria, Italy, etc. The one area that the Hapsburg troops could not subdue was Hungary where the Magyars led by Louis Kossouth (1802-1894)were not crushed until Russian troops under Czar Nicholus II (1825-1855 intervened. Taylor stated the reason for Hungarian military successes was the fact that the Hungarian army was bascially a Hapsburg army. As Taylor stated, Franz Joseph and Hapsburg aristocrats knew that changes were needed such as eliminating the Robot or forced labor imposed on workers and peasants. Both the German and Magyar aristocrats knew very well that their future was with the Emperor rather than national loyalty. Another interesting event was the Crimean War (1854-1855)whereby the Russians expected Hapsburg help but were threatened by Hapsburg troops. The Hapsburgs figured that the Russians were a threat since they would champion Slavic nationalism within the Hapsburg Empire.

The next major crisis for the Hapsburgs was the Seven Weeks War (1866) when the Prussian German troops shocked the Hapsburgs and forced the Hapsburgs to sign the Treaty of Prague which effectively ended Hapsburgs' control in what is today Germany. The Hapsburgs also lost most of their lands and political control in Italy and had to "retrench."

The Hapsburgs approved the National School Act in 1867 whereby students age 6-12 years could be taught in their native language. There was also a sham Diet or Parliament which gave the appearance political representation. This system worked tolerably well and was very effeective from 1879-1893. However, the Young Czech Movement and other natioalties made any work in the Diet almost impossible thereafter. Franz Joseph had to rule mostly by edcit from 1983 to 1914. Taylor noted that the Hapsburgs got breathing space in 1908 when they got control of Bosnia which prevented a South Slavic State (Yugoslavia). One of the problems that Taylor noted that most appointments re business, university teaching, etc. was state approved which led to nationality resentment that the "wrong" people were chosen.

Taylor made a good point when he argued that dynastic loyalty and clericalism were not enough to insure loyalty. Nationalism and the masses were what counted which the Hapsburgs feared as did the aristocrats. The days of the old loyalties were over. World War I ended the Hapsburg Empire. Taylor had a good quote on page 232 when he wrote, "War can only accelerate: it makes a dictatorial state more dictatorial, a democratic state more democratic, an industrial state more industrial, and-as with Austrial-Hungary-a rotten state more rotten."

The "allies" of World War I had little interest in what was left of the Hapsburg Empire. No reform or economic aid were used. As Taylor noted, the "allies" were more interested in stemming Bolshevism that promote sensible nationalism. The power vaccum left after the disintegration of the Hapsburg Empire was an inviting target for the resurgent Germans and Soviets.

The undersigned's only criticism of Taylor's book is that he could have more carefully investigated the actual causes and events of the assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 which precipated World War I. However, Taylor wrote an informative book that is concise and clearly written. Readers will be impressed with Taylor's thorough research, concise written expression, and wry sense of humor.

James E. Egolf
June 1, 2010

Taylor being Taylor, as always
You don't want to miss Lagavulin, but you don't want it to be all you drink, either.

Edward Crankshaw's book on "The Fall of the House of Habsburg," while ostensibly starting in 1848, is a good suggestion for the "first" book called for by so many reviews.Crankshaw, an intelligent old-school conservative, appears to have written his book in part as a retort to Taylor (judging by his comments in the text).Very readable, though without Taylor's wit.

Borderline unreadable for the layman
This summary of the nineteenth century Habsburg empire is poorly organized, repetitious, glib and judgemental. The basic weaknesses of the Empire are identified, as is its place in the 19th century balance of power. But the work lacks a satisfactory narrative of events and assumes too much prior knowledge of the reader. This work may offer useful insights and interpretation to the expert, but is painful for the rest of us. ... Read more

Product Description
This history of 19th-century economic thought discusses the key members of each classical school and reassesses their work. The author suggests that Ricardism declined after 1830 and was only revived with the work of John Stuart Mill. The book also resurrects the important Anglo-Irish school of thought at Trinity College, Dublin under Archbishop Richard Whately. Later chapters focus on the roots of Karl Marx and the nature of his doctrines, and "laissez-faire" thought in France, including the work of Frederic Bastiat. Also included is a treatment of the Bullionist versus anti-Bullionist and the Currency versus Banking School controversies in the first half of the 19th century, and their influence outside Great Britain. Tracing economic thought from Smith to Marx, this book includes all the important figures in each school of thought and assesses their theories in religious, political, philosophical and historical context. ... Read more

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Both dramatic and musical theater are part of the tradition that has made Austria - especially Vienna - and the old Habsburg lands synonymous with high culture in Central Europe. Many works, often controversial originally but now considered as classics, are still performed regularly in Vienna, Prague, Budapest, or Krakow. This volume not only offers an excellent overview of the theatrical history of the region; it must also be seen as an innovative, cross-disciplinary attempt to analyse the inner workings and dynamics of theater through a discussion of the interplay between society, the audience, and performing artists ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Thoughtful gift now a course adopted by music professor
I bought this text book for my niece before she embarked on a trip along with other academically selected student traveling for 3 months study abroad in Austria. She enjoyed the subject matter so much she brought it to the attention of her music professor. He was so impressed with the book's contents he adopted it as a course text book for the students to take with them for study credits as they were visiting the actual sites called out in the book. ... Read more

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20th-century Austrian literature boasts many outstanding writers: Schnitzler, Musil, Rilke, Kraus, Celan, Canetti, Bernhard, Jelinek. These and others feature in broader accounts of German literature, but it is desirable to see how the Austrian literary scene -- and Austrian society itself -- shaped their writing. This volume thus surveys Austrian writers of drama, prose fiction, and lyric poetry; relates them to the distinctive history of modern Austria, a democratic republic that was overtaken by civil war and authoritarian rule, absorbed into Nazi Germany, and re-established as a neutral state; and examines their response to controversial events such as the collusion with Nazism, the Waldheim affair, and the rise of Haider and the extreme right. In addition to confronting controversy in the relations between literature, history, and politics, the volume examines popular culture in line with current trends. CONTRIBUTORS: JUDITH BENISTON, JANET STEWART, ANDREW BARKER, MURRAY HALL, ANTHONY BUSHELL, DAGMAR LORENZ, JULIANE VOGEL, JONATHAN LONG, JOSEPH MCVEIGH, ALLYSON FIDDLER. ... Read more

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Written by Swords to the Knights Cross holder and last regimental commander Otto Weidinger, Comrades to the End is the complete history of SS-Regiment Der Führer. One of the original infantry regiments of the pre-war SS-Verfügungstruppe (Special Purpos ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Comrades to the End: The 4th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment "Der Führer" 1938-1945: The History of a German-Austrian Fighting Unit
NO MILITARY BOOKSHELF WOULD BE COMPLETE WITHOUT THIS BOOK, AWESOME FANTASTIC BOOK, WISH I HAD BOUGHT IT YEARS AGO.

comrades to the end.
Anyone with an interest in the waffen ss or the das reich division will proberly really enjoy this book.
Written by Four Regimental commanders, this book recounts the formation, the war history, and after war history of this fine regiment. Warning though, this book is not for the causual ww2 reader in my opinion. I think it would be hard going for anyone without an interest in the waffen ss or das reich.
It is a book for somebody with a special interest in these topics, or regimental histories in general.
Having said all that i found it to be a well written, informative account of this regiment. It is forthright, detailed and incredibly interesting and enlightning.What this unit achieved is impressive, considering the situations it kept finding itself in. If you want to know the history of a truly elite regiment in a truly elite division then you will enjoy this. A fair amount of history on the sister regiment too.
Photos too and plenty of maps, and no messing around, its all too the point and not a wasted word.

Not Objective - just short of Nazi propaganda
I bought this book with the intention of understanding the "other side of the story" with respect to Tulle (where 98 men were hung) and Oradour Sur Glane (where the entire village was wiped out, including women and children in a church.)I have done a lot of research on these topics, visited both sites, spoken with survivers, and consider myself very well factually informed.
I am frankly outraged at his disgusting and defensive treatment of both topics.The Germans did not lovingly spare lots of men in Tulle after a "careful triage" on a parade ground assisted by local residents, resulting only "foreigners and communists" being hung.In fact, my grandfather was one of them (while his new wife, pregnant with my father looked on).And my grandfather was very much a young resident of Tulle, not associated with the resistance or communists.The author also casually leaves out the 100 men deported to concentration camps the same day, of which a small handful ever returned.As far as Oradour sur Glane, the author claims the church fire was accidental, and (I suppose) the grenade shrapnel that killed so many women and children was a result of munitions stored in the "attic" (an attic in a church??) rather than the eyewitness report that grenades were thrown down the nave by German soldiers.Get real - if the church had just accidentally caught fire, why didn't these charming soldiers just unlock the bloody doors to let the people out?

Frankly, I can understand why someone would be proud of their regiment, but defending the single worst civil atrocity of the war in France?I don't know anyone who could possibly even try.I'm returning my copy - the publishers of this garbage don't deserve anyone's money.

A detailed recollection of the DF Regiment
This book provides a detailed recollection of the Der Fuhrer Regiment's actions during and after the war from several of the units senior officers. There is a good mix of small unit and individual battle stories in additionto descriptions of the units that fought with and alongside the DFregiment. There is a detailed description of the events at Tulle andOradour which (compellingly) disputes much of what is most often printed inother sources. Having spent many years in various US Special Forces units Ialso greatly appreciated the no-nonsense approach the authors took inwriting this book, and highly recommend it to both historians and casualreaders.

Memoires of the commanders of "Der Fuhrer".
"Der Fuhrer" was a regiment in the "Das Reich" Waffen SS division. It was created in 1938, and fought with distinction until 1945. This book is a series of 4 sections, each written by the regiment'scommander in the corresponding period, with a preface by Hausser. It is atranslation of the 2nd edition of an old book (Hausser passed away in 1972)that was originally in German. Most discussion of tactical situations is atthe regimental level, with virtually no discussion of anything abovedivision level, and only moderate coverage of the actions of individualsoldiers. Within this genre, it is a fairly good book.

The authors havebroken out of the usual post-war memoire habit of sucking up to the westernallies, while denouncing the Soviet Union in a play on Cold War sympathies.They denounce a war crime commited by the Dutch, of all people, andacknowledge battles in which the Soviets behaved themselves properly. Ofcourse, there is also the usual denunciation of the shabby treatment thatthe West German government gave them after the war. However, the book doesnot get bogged down in whining with self pity.

In the middle of the book,there is a section of black and white photographs, one of which contains aninteresting variant on the Hanomag armored personel carrier. ... Read more

Product Description
Austria, the multicultural crossroad of the European continent, has been the genesis of many artistic concepts. Just as late 19th and early 20th century Austria gave influential modernism to the world in the fields of medicine, urban planning, architecture, design, literature, music, and theater, so its film industry created a significant national cinema that seeded talents and concepts internationally. Nevertheless, the value of Austrian cinema to international film has been long obscured. Austria's important bond with American film is also underappreciated because of the lack of accessible English language scholarship on the early careers of Austro-Hollywood artists and on influential developments in Austrian film history. This first comprehensive English survey of Austrian film introduces more than a century of cinema, following the development of the industry chronologically through the nation's various transformations since 1895. Important industry movements, genres and films are highlighted with sociopolitical, cultural and aesthetic details. An analysis of the economic trends that have influenced Austrian film is also provided. The survey considers the directors, actors, producers, writers, cinematographers, editors, composers and other film artists who have been essential to the development and influence of Austrian cinema. The closing chapter anticipates new faces of the Austrian film industry in the 21st century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Finally!
A book on Austrian film history (and what a history) with a fine narrative style and details galore. I am looking up everything I never knew! How something like this hasn't been available before is beyond me. Superb.

A first--and a very good one!
What a terrific book. There is next to nothing available on Austrian film on any level and this text provides a solid and very readable introduction. I am familiar with Central Europe, so I know something about Austrian history, but this book manages to weave the cinema into the political events so well that I don't have to go find a history book to help me. The author manages to do a theoretical reading of at least one film per era, which enlightens the discussion on a more academic level, but without boring the casual reader. I was particularly fascinated with the reasons for Austria's no-show in 1960s cinema, after so much production in the 1950s and when other Europeans (including the often production partnered Czechoslovakians) were having a New Wave. The chapters on New Austrian Film is also a fine companion to some of these films that are now available in the US. There seems to be almost too much information here, if that is possible! So, for the second edition, and I hope there will be one, the index (names only; very European) needs to be expanded to include other aspects of the text. I am not crazy about the textbook binding, but its a nicely produced book, with some very interesting stills. I have learned a great deal here and continue to come back to the book often. ... Read more

Product Description
This title presents a history of the Habsburg monarchy from the end of the Holy Roman Empire to the monarchy's dissolution in 1918. The book offers an insight into the problems inherent in the attempt to give peace, stability and common loyalty to a heterogeneous population. ... Read more

Product Description
The fourteen essays in this volume include works by leading Austrian historians and political scientists. Collectively it serves as a basic introduction to a small but trend-setting European country. It is also a basic up-to-date outline of Austria's political history, shedding light on economic and social trends as well. No European country has experienced more dramatic turning points in its twentieth-century history than Austria.This volume divides the century into three periods. Section I deals with the years 1900-1938. The First Austrian Republic (established in the aftermath of World War I) was one of the succession states that tried to build a nation against the backdrop of political and economic crisis and a simmering civil war. Democracy collapsed in 1933 and an authoritarian regime attempted to prevail against pressures from Nazi Germany and Nazis at home. Section II covers World War II. In 1938, Hitler's "Third Reich" annexed Austria and the population was pulled into the cauldron of World War II fighting and collaborating with the Nazis, and also resisting and fleeing them. Section III concentrates on the Second Republic (1945 to the present).After ten years of four-power Allied occupation, Austria regained her sovereignty with the Austrian State Treaty of 1955. The price paid was neutrality.Unlike the turmoil of the prewar years after 1955, Austria became a "normal" nation with a functioning democracy, one building toward economic prosperity. After the collapse of the "iron curtain" in 1989, Austria turned westward, joining the European Union in 1995. Most recently, with the advent of populist politics, Austria's political system has experienced a sea of change, departing from its political economy of a huge state-owned sector and social partnership. This insightful volume will serve as a textbook in courses on Austrian, German and European history, as well as in comparative European politics. ... Read more

Product Description
According to Simon Wiesenthal, nearly half of the crimes associated with the Holocaust were committed by Austrians, who comprised just 8.5 percent of the population of Hitler's Greater German Reich. Bruce Pauley's book explains this phenomenon by providing a history of Austrian anti-Semitism and Jewish responses to it from the Middle Ages to the present, with a particular focus on the period from 1914 to 1938. In contrast to works that view anti-Semitism as an inherent national characteristic, his account identifies many sources and varieties of the anti-Semitic sentiment that pervaded Austrian society on the eve of the Holocaust. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Another troll ?
A question about the 'reviewer' below : Is his critical judgement any better than his spelling (Oregan) ?

A thorough snooze.
Deeply researched, but if this book's author is nearly as long-winded in his classes his students must fall asleep in droves. ... Read more

Product Description
South Tyrol, a region in the heart of the Alps about half the size of Connecticut,brings into sharp focus an important part of twentieth-century history. Tyrol,a province that had been part of Austria for over 500 years and was almosttotally German-speaking, was split in two after World War I and the southern part awarded to Italy as "spoils of war." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good introduction to South Tyrol's recent history
Rolf Steininger's treatise on the recent history of the South Tyrol is an interesting story on the plight of a German province within the nation of Italy.Ceded from Austria in 1919 as a result of the Treaty of St. Germain, South Tyrol's German population faced constant harrassment from Italy's Fascist government in terms of their suppressing their culture, language and their general way of life.

The South Tyrol Germans were disappointed at the lack of support from Hitler to reintergrate their province into greater Germany in the late 1930s and that they were not absorbed back into Austria after World War II. Both actions were due to political factors.

Today, the South Tyrol has been granted autonomy by the Rome government to a certain extent and has their own party to represent them in Parliament (the SVP).The book is a good, quick read with a glossary of acronyms, a short bibliography and timeline of events of the South Tyrol in the 20th Century.I recommend this book for scholars of modern European history. ... Read more

Product Description
INTRODUCING AUSTRIA provides in compact form a comprehensive overview of the country's rich past and present. The first half of the book deals with Austria before 1918. Each chapter and subchapter approaches Austria's diverse, thousand-year-old heritage from a different perspective to illuminate its essential features. The second half of the book deals with Austria's turbulent history from 1918 to the present. Controversial issues are presented objectively and without oversimplification. Overall the book conveys a differentiated picture of the country and its people and should give readers a feeling for the continuity and change of the Austrian idea. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

My Homework for My Trip to Austria
I actually purchased this book in preparation for my vacation in Austria.The book served as a superb reference in understanding the more current aspect of Austria's history.Additionally, the book provided a good sense of modern politics in Austria... providing a sense of the various political view and why people hold these views.

Recent History and Regionalism
Introducing Austria might better have been titled "Introducing Austrians." The author's goal, as he explains in the Preface, is to supplement traditional histories and guidebooks with a work that illuminates the character, attitudes, and internal differences among the Austrian population. The focus is on events and issues since 1918; only 35 pages are devoted to the history of Austria from prehistory to the First World War. Obviously this is not the book to buy if your primary interest is the Habsburg dynasty.

The strength of the book is its depiction of the social and political characteristics of the different regions of Austria and how these characteristics have shaped recent history. The text is informal, often humorous, and illustrated with political cartoons. There is a brief appendix with travel information and a useful bibliographic essay.

Introducing Austria is recommended for the business traveler or diplomat who wants to learn about modern Austria. The historian or tourist will also find the book informative and entertaining, but will want to look elsewhere for details about Austria's Imperial past.

As a Viennese/American I loved this book!
As an Austro/American I enjoyed this book very much. I found muyself smiling at the description of our character, while nodding my head in agreement over all the historic fact. I would higly recommend this book to everybody in an Austro-relationship and anybody who would like to learn more about the real Austrians. ... Read more

Product Description
Austria has experienced extraordinary change and turmoil during this and the previous centuries. Nevertheless, the study of its culture and history tends to be overshadowed by that of its larger neighbors, Germany and Russia; this applies even more so to the study of Austrian women who suffer a double marginalization within this configuration. However, the climate is changing, and Womens Studies in particular is becoming a recognized academic field not only in its own right, but also as a constitutive part of Austrian Studies in general. This volume, the first one of its kind in English, represents an important contribution. It brings together scholars from different disciplines who address the history of women in Austria, as well as their place in contemporary Austrian society, from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives, thus shedding new light on contemporary Austria in the context of its rich and complicated history. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: London : Iris Pub. Co.Publication date: 1917Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more