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The Habsburgs

The Rise and Fall of a World Power

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The Habsburgs

By: Martyn Rady
Narrated by: Simon Bowie
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

In The Habsburgs, Martyn Rady tells the epic story of a dynasty and the world it built - and then lost - over nearly a millennium. From modest origins, the Habsburgs grew in power to gain control of the Holy Roman Empire in the 15th century. Then, in just a few decades, their possessions rapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe stretching from Hungary to Spain and from the Far East to the New World.

The family continued to dominate Central Europe until the catastrophe of the First World War.

With its seemingly disorganised mass of large and small territories, its tangle of laws and privileges and its medley of languages, the Habsburg Empire has always appeared haphazard and incomplete. But here Martyn Rady shows the reasons for the family's incredible endurance, driven by the belief that they were destined to rule the world as defenders of the Roman Catholic Church, guarantors of peace and patrons of learning.

The Habsburg emperors were themselves absurdly varied in their characters - from warlords to contemplatives, from clever to stupid, from idle to frenzied - but all driven by the same sense of family mission. Scattered around the world, countless buildings, institutions and works of art continue to bear witness to their overwhelming impact.

The Habsburgs is the definitive history of a remarkable dynasty that, for better or worse, shaped Europe and the world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our Desktop Site.

©2020 Martyn Rady (P)2020 Penguin Audio
19th Century 20th Century Europe Colonial Period Hungary Imperialism France King Crusade Interwar Period
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What listeners say about The Habsburgs

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  • Overall
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Average reading of a good book

The narrator could speak with greater clarity (though pace is excellent). Mispronunciation of French, Spanish, etc words is understandable, but of English words is plain annoying.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Comprehensive and thrilling

A pretty wild ride through European history from the perspective of the Habsburg dynasty. The author manages to give a comprehensive and factual account while keeping you engaged with good writing and a constantly twisting narrative. The narrator is excellent apart from the occasional butchered German word, which is totally understandable as far as I’m concerned. Would definitely recommend!

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1 person found this helpful

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Ultimate Habsburg History

A compelling account of the growth and decline of a world empire well told and narrated with understanding of its complexity. Rady’s account is made all the more significant and richer by his descriptions of the contextual setting and use of incidental detail. An essential contribution to understanding the behaviour of contemporary Eastern Europe and today’s world.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good History.

This is a quite short history of the empire, none the less interesting. Simon Bowie the narrator is very good. I would have liked more detail about the first world war and the end of the Empire.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A decent book for someone who is not familiar already with Habsburg History

The book works for someone who is new to Habsburg history. BUT if you are quite familiar with Habsburg history as I am it may not be for you. Chose to re read this one because it been a couple of years since I read it. But it was sadly not as goood as I remembered. The narrator was ok. But the story could easilly have been 10 or 20 hours longer. Certain rules that should have been written about more such as Charles V, Maria Theresa, and Joseph II to mention a few felt rushed. Especially Joseph II considering his bipgrapher Bales wrote two whole volumes on him. So this book is definatley not for someone who is familiar with Habsburg history it willl be underwhealming.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Great book spoilt by narration

This is a very good book very informative and manages to condense the long reign of the Hapsburg family without losing too much. Unfortunately the narration is clunky, with pauses in middle of sentences and strange inflections. Could only listen is short stretches without the narration spoiling the book.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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An odd book

This took an odd approach..going into excessive detail on some peripheral aspects but then rushing over important and potentially more interesting things.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Boring book - bad naration

I was hoping this would be a fascinating character study of a dynasty - teasing it the common threads of a family spread across time and geography. I was disappointed - this is essentially a list of things that happened, I didn't get any sense of who the Habsburgs were or why they did the things they did. And unfortunately the narrator was extremely poor - often mispronouncing words such as Ferdidand and Protestrant. Such a shame.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A superb telling of an incredible history!

This was one of the best history books I’ve had on audible, equal to Bettany Woods history of Istanbul. The book is great at providing fascinating details of a dynasty that shaped a continent. I listened compulsively to the excellent narration and highly recommend this book for anyone interested in European history.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb overview of the former Habsburg empire.

Great overview of the former Habsburg empire.
Superbly narrated, the narrative of the history flows along.
A great listen.

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