The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918 [Hardcover]

Carlile Aylmer MacArtney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1969

This book is a narrative history of the Austrian Monarchy from 1790 to its break-up in 1918. Its theme is the hundred year struggle between the venerable dynastic empire which ruled Central Europe, and the new national, political and social forces in conflict with it, an with one another. The author starts with the death of Emperor Joseph 11 in 1790, the event which he takes as marking the turn of the tide in the struggle between autocracy and centralization on the one side, and the new forces on the other; but he prefixes his narrative with a brief account of Joseph's own reign, and with a comprehensive picture of the old monarchy on the threshold of the new age. C. A. Macartney takes his subject as comprising the monarchy as a whole, every people, class and province in it. He thus brings and makes intelligible the diversity within the unity, and the unity synthesizing the diversity, which give the history of the Austrian Monarchy its special and unique character. The author was long acquainted with the countries and people that were once part of the Habsburg Empire and it was this experience, combined with linguistic accomplishments that enabled him to draw on an exceptionally wide range of sources. The result is a work of monumental scholarship written with unique insight and understanding.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

C. A. Macartney (1895-1978) was one of the foremost authorities on Central Europe. If The Habsburg Monarchy can be seen as the summation of his scholarship other works like National States and National Minorities (still the classic treatment of the Nationalities problem) and October Fifteenth: A History of Modern Hungary, 1929-1945 testify to his extraordinary erudition and commanding grasp of complex issues. He was an impressive and inspiring historian --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 886 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Pub Co (September 1969)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0025772007
• ISBN-13: 978-0025772007
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,665,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unrivalled, September 5, 2003

By 

Andrew O'Connor (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hapsburg Empire, 1790-1918 (Hardcover)

I found this book on the shelves of a house I was renting in Rome last year (which belongs to a Habsburg descendent). I suspect I would have seen a lot more of Rome if I hadn't decided to read it.

Macartney's book, which appeared in the late 1960s, is the model of what a modern, comprehensive history book can be. It is exhaustively researched, filled with all sorts of data on demographic, agricultural and economic trends. Yet Macartney also leads us with sure hand, and astounding erudition, through the maze of politics, diplomacy and Habsburg family dramas. He controls all of this vast and complex material with wit and elegance.

While later historians have challenged some aspects of his analysis, his book remains that against which all others on the topic must be judged.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plus Ultra, June 30, 2003

By 

Michael Meo (Benson Polytechnic High School, Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hapsburg Empire, 1790-1918 (Hardcover)

Usually, the historians of the Austro-Hungarian Empire writing in English have begun their professional career reading German, and then proceeded to learn Hungarian sufficient for their purposes.
C.A. MacArtney, in contrast, began his written work with histories of Hungary--medieval Hungary at that.
Only after writing several such works, and collecting and editing documents on early modern Hapsburg and Hohenzollern history, did he, at the peak of his powers, proceed to write this masterpiece of the historians' art: a survey of the history of Austria-Hungary, seen from within rather than what foreign diplomats believed.
The Hapsburg Empire, 1790-1918, has nothing with which to to be compared, let alone equalled, in its comprehensive coverage, in its detailed examination of contemporary sources, and in its judicious balance.
I am delighted that alibris has it on offer.