No ruler in modern times reigned in full sovereignty for as long as
Francis Joseph, emperor of Austria and king of Hungary, Bohemia,
Dalmatia, Croatia, and Slavonia. Titular master of central Europe from
1848 until 1916, he was center stage in Europe throughout the dramatic
era in which Italy and Germany emerged as united nation states. His
personal decisions were vital both to the outcome of the Crimean War and
to the onset of World War I, sixty years later. Far more than a
biography of a great ruler, Twilight of the Habsburgs is a social,
cultural, political, and military history of Europe from the end of the
Napoleonic era to the assassination at Sarajevo. "Just the right balance
between the story of Francis Joseph's life and the history of his
times." -- The New York Times Book Review; "Excellent and absorbing . .
. A compelling read." -- Evening Standard (London).