I think this is one that is hard to digest in one go. I will frequently revisit parts. Overall an exhaustive study of a dynamic family but I did have to slog through at times due to the events this year has brought.

Before I read this book, I knew very little about the Habsburg dynasty. What a fascinating family they were, influential in and beyond Europe for hundreds of years, engineering advantageous marriages into numerous other royal lines and powerful families - Napoleon himself married a Hapsburg.

This well-written book is very accessible to a non-historian and not only gives a history of the Habsburg line but also a great overview of events in Europe during their time. The author certainly knows how to communicate in addition to being an expert on his subject. Overall, whilst reading this I have enjoyed learning without feeling I had to work hard at all!

With many thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for giving me a copy of the book in exchange for this honest review.

The book The Habsburgs tells the story of the Habsburg dynasty through the centuries. It focuses on all of the major leaders in Europe who were a part of the Habsburg dynasty. This book tended towards hagiography of the family, which I found problematic. It also did not go into great depths with many figures, although that is understandable because it covers over 900 years of history. I also felt that some of the views on religion during the rules of the Habsburg were misunderstood.

This book is meticulously well researched. It’s clear that this is a book by a serious historian who spent years involved in the deepest search of info and details about his subject matter. If you are looking for a book about Habsburgs with credible and solid historical basis, this is it. It’s definitely not a book for a layperson reader. This definitely trends more towards historical text than popular history, I very much feel that the book needed illustrations. Maybe my ARC version didn’t include those, which is a huge shame because it always helps me to visualize the people I am reading about,

Fascinating and engulfing, I thoroughly enjoyed this history of The Habsburgs. I've held interest at a distance for some time now, so this was my first experience being truly immersed in the dynasty's history. Anyone curious to branch out from the overflow of Tudor/Romanov/Windsor materials now circulating should consider picking Rady's book up. The Habsburgs is a history necessary to understand if one is to truly comprehend European politics, statehood, religion, and culture. At times I found the book in need of editing and paring down, but overall a successful account of an oft-forgotten empire.

The Hapsburgs. Once one of the world's most powerful families. Yet so few people have heard of them. People have heard of Marie Antoinette but they don't know she was a Hapsburg but this book is not about her but it is about her family beginning to end. It is an interesting book. It moves along well. It doesn't get too bogged down in politics and wars which is a good thing because it has to get through about 1000 years in a reasonable number of pages without boring the reader silly. The book gives you an overview of the major players and anyone or any time frame you want to read about in more depth you can get that book. Because this is a serious history book it does have copious notes and a bibliography in order to find these other books.
The Hapsburgs sort of come into their own in Swabia in the 1000's. The one thing you will notice about the Hapsburgs is they fight when they have to but they prefer to marry their wealth. That and they are lucky about having boys, boys who survive into adulthood. Other families die out and the Hapsburgs are left standing and inherit. By the time we get to Charles V Holy Roman Emperor, the first superpower, the sun doesn't set on his empire. The empire is also too big. In order to keep it in the family, intermarriage is a thing with 4 uncle-niece marriages, 11 first cousin marriages, and 28 second cousin marriages. They had an 80% infant mortality rate which was higher than the peasants. The "Hapsburg" chin was a deformity. The empire was too big. Charles split it. Phillip II his son got Spain and the new world. Ferdinand I his brother got Austria and the Low Countries.
Other notables include Maria Theresa and her 16 children who married everyone including Marie Antoinette who went to France. Leopold II who sent his daughter Marie Louise to France to marry Napoleon. She at least kept her head if not her throne. Franz Joseph the longest-serving Emperor, his only claim to fame other than being related to tragedy. He was husband to the beautiful, wilful and tragic Sisi (Empress Elisabeth), brother to the tragic and ill-fated Emperor Maximilian who was executed in Mexico, the father of the tragic Crown Prince Rudolf who committed suicide and uncle of Franz Ferdinand who was his heir after Rudolf died and was assassinated kicking off WWI. Emperor Franz Joseph died just in time leaving his great-nephew Karl Emperor and holding the bag and Karl was punished for the war. Karl's son Otto acquitted himself well but there is no empire left and eastern Europe continues to writhe. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in return for a review.

The Habsburgs is a extensive history of a vast dinasty that ruled and consequently changed Europe and the world.
Very readable history of the family, who often used power of marriage to "conquer" the throne.

I enjoyed it, book is a must - read for history enthusiasts.

Very detailed history of the family, I did enjoy reading but it took me awhile to get through. I think it was fascinating how far the Habsburgs' reach was.

four stars -- very good

Austria is a bloc of different nations and different races under a united rule … and it is an idea of enormous importance to the civilization of the world. Because the present execution of this idea is, to put it diplomatically, not altogether harmonious, it does not mean that the idea itself is wrong. – Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (1889, found in this book at Kindle location 5187)

This book is an enjoyable easy read and I hope that the above quote makes it clear that the fate of the Habsburgs and their lands is not totally irrelevant today.

The author also wrote The Habsburg Empire: A Very Short Introduction. I believe I read somewhere that, in order to meet the implicit promise of the title, the author felt that he had to rush through a lot of stuff in a manner which left him unsatisfied. Hence this book. I can understand the author’s feeling (if indeed he actually had this feeling) because the Hapsburgs zigged and zagged all over European history, starting as an unpromising group of aristos around the Germany-Switzerland border, and getting progressively more inbred and odd as they played key roles in the Protestant reformation, the Battle of Lepanto, the exploitation of the New World, the age of alchemy, the scientific revolution, the rise of freemasonry, and so forth, all of this long before lighting the match on the first genuinely world-wide war. That’s a lot of madness to fit into a Very Short Introduction.

The author doesn’t seem to have any particular historical ax to grind, but those who feel that all history should be examined through current historical values may feel the need to pummel the author with an unabridged dictionary.

For example, the author’s failure to excoriate the ill-fated Maximilian for being an agent of European imperialism in Mexico will surely unhinge those who feel that the rest of us are idiots who need to be regularly reminded that colonialism did far more harm than good. I’m of a milder opinion than some about this, but I think this author went pretty easy on Maximilian, who seemed more interested in seating protocol and the arrangement of place settings than seems wide for someone thrust into such clearly unstable circumstances. Of course, for most people, poor judgment doesn’t end up with you in front of a firing squad, but that’s a drawback of setting yourself up as a monarch.

Another great character who gets a little more room in this book is Albreach Vaclav Eusebuis v Valdstejna, known to history as “Wallenstein” in part because his real name wouldn’t easily fit on the boardgame that bears his name and therefore guarantees a strange sort of notoriety. Here’s a sentence I enjoyed:

He [Wallenstein] had his horoscope cast several times by Kepler, but Kepler made several miscalculations so his lucubrations on Wallenstein’s character (agile, active, merciless, and so forth) may be safely disregarded.

As happy as I am to see the word “lucubrations” given a solid airing, I have to say I really wished for more detail. But I guess that even a book which is an expansion of a Very Short Introduction has to draw the line somewhere.

All of the above is even before the last generation of galloping madness, pointless suicide, mindless militarism, petty hairsplitting snobbery, spiteful nationalism, and lust for power, all of which seem in retrospect to be specifically designed to place Franz Ferdinand in the path of the assassin’s bullet.

I guess all of this is not everybody’s idea of fun leisure reading, but I enjoyed this book greatly and recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the free advance egalley copy of this book.

This is a very dense history of one of the ruling families of Europe, The Habsburgs or Hapsburgs. It is for folks who already know quite a bit about historical politics in Europe. Average people who haven't studied it will be overwhelmed.
I have read about these people since High School History class and had a fair understanding before going in but it is still overwhelming to me. It would have been easier to relate to if dates, successions, politics weren't so prevalent throughout. But they are and to me that's boring. Very few personal life events or psychology of the players is here. That makes it boring for me as I don't really care about nailing down when certain events occurred. Or as an example, take a look at the Family Tree. Does anybody know who any of these people are? Yes, scholars do. Regular people don't and they won't get a clear understanding in this book, except for the big political players who are talked about at length..

As someone who read a book on the Habsburgs about 20 years ago, I was due for a refresher on the dynasty and its power and reach. What I got was so much more! Some histories can be very dry- they either stick to demographic facts or get stuck in a storytelling rut, both of which lead to boredom. I didn't want to put this book down because it is so far beyond what I expecting. In this engaging volume on the Habsburgs, Rady highlights their influence in the worlds of art, architecture, warfare, diplomacy, exploration, and colonization. Rady's account doesn't shy away from the negative aspects of the family- this account is of the "warts and all" variety. The comprehensive view of the dynasty and its impact gives a lot of details, but for illustrative purposes that illuminate why the person or the actions they took were important to the overall story.

The subject matter is what drew me in, but what kept me turning the page was the engaging story of the dynasty and how it built upon itself and its own past. This volume doesn't become bogged down in the minutiae of any certain period of time, making it a great book for the general reader. It also gives tantalizing windows into many different Habsburgs throughout the almost 1,000 years of their rule. There are so many personalities that a reader cannot fail to find someone madly interesting they'll want to read further about- this is a mark of strength for a solidly-written historical book. The bibliography is a great jumping off point for further exploration.

(I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.)

Accessible history of the Habsburg dynasty. Previous books I've read about the Habsburgs tended to be massive with far too much detail about irrelevancies. This book was a very readable history of the family and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I’ve always found myself fascinated with the Habsburgs. As one of the most powerful and prominent (as well as long-lived) dynasties in Europe, their dynastic fortunes played an outsize role in the fortunes of Europe as a whole and, as the centuries progressed, they came to play an increasingly important role in both the stability and the eventual disintegration of Central and Eastern Europe. So, when I saw that there Martyn Rady’s new book on the dynasty, I leapt at the chance to read it.

Rady provides a detailed account of Habsburg fortunes, from the founding of the dynasty until its monarchical demise in the aftermath of the First World War. While certainly the titanic figures feature largely in his narrative–figures such as Charles V (who sparred with Martin Luther), Maria Theresa, and Franz Joseph–he also pays attention to the lesser-known figures, such as Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. We see the ebb and flow of their power as they have to contend with the fundamentally unstable nature of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as the numerous conflicts, both religious and political, that roiled Europe, ranging from the Protestant Reformation to the rise of nationalism.

While the book is, naturally, primarily about the political fortunes of the dynasty–particularly its Austrian branch–it also delves into the complicated relationship between the Spanish branch of the family and their eastern cousins, as well as various other European powers. The French often figure largely, particularly Louis XIV and Napoleon, the latter of whom would inflict one of the most crushing defeats the dynasty would endure. The Habsburgs also frequently found themselves in conflict with their own nobles, as well as the Ottoman Empire. Through it all, however, they aspired to be the guarantors of stability and peace–and as purveyors of the legacy of the Roman Empire–and, if they didn’t always succeed in those endeavors, Rady makes the case that they should be respected for at least attempting to do so.

In addition to being rulers of vast domains, the Habsburgs were also voracious collectors of knowledge and devout defenders of the Catholic faith, and Rady does an excellent job of providing a big-picture view of the culture in the Habsburg domains. They truly saw themselves as a dynasty destined to rule the world, and from the 15th to the 19th Centuries, that no doubt appeared to be true. Even though the Protestant Reformation rocked their domains–and severely curtailed their power–they still managed somehow to be bastions of Catholicism. Likewise, the Habsburg commitment to knowledge and order provided a fertile environment for both art and science to flourish.

Rady also demonstrates the extent to which the Habsburg monarchs also provided a foundation upon which Eastern Europe could base itself. As strange and contradictory and unwieldy as their domains ultimately became–most evident in the clunky appellation “Austro-Hungarian Empire” to define their domains during the 18th and 19th Centuries–it was largely due to their influence that the region remained as fundamentally stable as it did. Ultimately, of course, even such an august dynasty couldn’t withstand the forces of history and the rising tide of German nationalism, and so they became embroiled in Prussia’s ambitions. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the spark that would consume the dynasty and lead to the disintegration of its fortunes.

In the aftermath of World War I, the Habsburgs lost almost all of their political clout. However, as Rady points out, its most prominent member, Otto, actually became a prominent figure in the drive to achieve unity and peace in Europe. One can’t help but wonder what might have happened if he’d succeeded to the throne.

All in all, I quite enjoyed Rady’s book. He has a keen eye for historical detail, and while at times it’s rather easy to get lost in the bewildering sea of names and dates and places, Rady does usually keep you grounded in the main narrative. It’s clear that he admires the Habsburgs as an ambitious but deeply flawed dynasty that often became victims of their own success. For those who want to get a richer and deeper understanding of a European dynasty so famous that they’ve become almost mythological, Rady’s book is highly recommended.

The Habsburgs by Martyn Rady
Genre: History, Non-Fiction
Publisher: Perseus Books, Basic Books
Publish Date 12 May 2020

The Habsburgs are a fascinating family. I've read historical fictions of some of the more famous Habsburgs but I haven't read a non-fiction about the dynasty. Martyn Rady has put together a wonderful narrative of the Habsburgs from their origin, through to their rise and demise. There is a lot of history in this one book therefore it is mostly a summary but it is coherent and informative. It has taken me longer to read this book than it should have because I kept putting it down to google whoever I was just learning about, so I could see their face which inevitably lead me down wiki's rabbit hole of clicking on related people mentioned in the post. Overall, I truly enjoyed this work and I'm glad to now have an understanding of the dynasty and how the previous people I have read about fitted in.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have a long-held interest in the Habsburgs and was therefore keen to read a new biography about the family. Rady's book is certainly packed with detail, and overall I thought it was a satisfying read, if a little dry at times. Some information I already knew, but there were a few things I hadn't come across/realised before, so that helped to maintain my interest. I wasn't sure about the handful of digressions into art and architecture. Not that they weren't interesting; they simply seemed out of place in a family biography and maybe could have been trimmed somewhat. But that is a minor gripe. On the whole this was an enjoyable read, and I would recommend it to those interested in the Habsburgs or the history of Europe in general..