The Habsburgs

To Rule the World

By: Martyn Rady

Narrated by: Simon Boughey

The definitive history of a powerful family dynasty who dominated Europe for centuries - from their rise to power to their eventual downfall.

Habsburgs ruled much of Europe for centuries. From modest origins as minor German nobles, the family used fabricated documents, invented genealogies, savvy marriages, and military conquest on their improbable ascent, becoming the continent's most powerful dynasty. By the mid-15th century, the Habsburgs controlled of the Holy Roman Empire, and by the early 16th century, their lands stretched across the continent and far beyond it. But in 1918, at the end of the Great War, the final remnant of their empire was gone.

In The Habsburgs, historian Martyn Rady tells the epic story of the Habsburg dynasty and the world it built - and then lost - over nearly a millennium, placing it in its European and global contexts. Beginning in the Middle Ages, the Habsburgs expanded from Swabia across Southern Germany to Austria through forgery and good fortune. By the time a Habsburg duke was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III in 1452, he and his clan already held fast to the imperial vision distilled in its AEIOU motto: Austriae est imperare orbi universe, "Austria is destined to rule the world." Maintaining their grip on the imperial succession of the Holy Roman Empire for centuries, the Habsburgs extended their power into Italy, Spain, the New World, and the Pacific, a dominion that Charles V called "the empire on which the sun never sets". They then weathered centuries of religious warfare, revolution, and transformation, including the loss of their Spanish empire in 1700 and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. In 1867, the Habsburgs fatefully consolidated their remaining lands the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, setting in motion a chain of events that would end with the 1914 assassination of the Habsburg heir presumptive Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, World War I, and the end of the Habsburg era.

Their demise was ignominious, and historians often depict the Habsburgs as leaders of a ramshackle, collapsing empire at Europe's margins. But in The Habsburgs, Rady reveals how they saw themselves - as destined to rule the world, not through mere territorial conquest, but as defenders of Christian civilization and the Roman Catholic Church, guarantors of peace and harmony, and patrons of science and learning.

Lively and authoritative, The Habsburgs is the engrossing definitive history of the remarkable dynasty that forever changed Europe and the world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Martyn Rady (P)2020 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Martyn Rady's history of this peculiar family is deeply informed, elegantly written and a joy to read." (Evening Standard [UK])

"This admirably compact, exceptionally well-written survey will probably be the standard one-volume history of the Habsburg dynasty for years to come." (Library Journal)

"A sweeping chronicle of the rise and fall of the Habsburg dynasty." (Kirkus)

It's good

Good and informative, although it can get a bit boring and monotonous at times, IMO.

A seemingly balanced approach

It’s a good story that combined praise when appropriate, with plenty of unflattering facts. It explains a lot about nearly 1000 years of European history

wanted a deeper dive

I was looking for something a little more in depth. this glosses over the stuff I was interested in, mainly the Hapsburgs.

Very good but ...

I want to mention just one thing: the repeated, parenthetical conversion of metric into imperial measures. Why? Who is this for? Americans, I assume. This strikes me as insulting. It's as if the book is being read to children.

Good information, learned a lot

Good performance, lots of info, I did feel it got long in its explanation of arts and humanity

Historical!

A bit slow in the middle but an excellent historical guide of the Habsburgs throughout history!

Very good!

The world the way is shaped today is because of the Habsburgs! Great accomplishments by the Habsburgs yet terrible miseries we are still leaving through!
This "dynasty" gave birth to the worst dictators, despots of modern history!

Good

Excellent book, well told, and very informative. I wouldn’t have minded more information about the more general historical developments of the times covered, but it is a very focused book

Interesting family

I liked the book and it’s a good overview. I wish there had been a little more on the family and less on cultural issues but I still enjoyed it.

inexplicable minutia

struggled to finish. I've read many books about the Habsburg dynasty and this was probably my least favorite.