The Habsburg empire

Historiography on the Habsburg Empire ranges from sepia-toned nostalgia to portrayals of a corrupt, brutal, and decrepit empire riven apart by nationalistic strife. Judson (European University Institute, Florence, Italy) claims that such portrayals have been one-sided, and he offers a remarkable new interpretive history of the Habsburgs that avoids these pitfalls. Beginning with the Pragmatic Sanctions and Maria-Theresa's reform efforts, Judson traces the efforts of the Habsburg rulers to forge a centralized imperial state and the challenges they faced from recalcitrant aristocrats, anti-modern tendencies from the Church, and demands from peasants and a rising middling class. It is the latter two groups that Habsburg rulers tried to bind into a concept of imperial "citizenship" and loyalty across the diverse Crown lands. Despite the rising tide of nationalistic groups, most peasants did not see themselves as part of a larger "nation" but sought economic relief and protections from the Crown, demonstrating indifference toward nationalist politics. Judson argues that nationalism weakened the empire but didn't lead to its collapse. Instead, he points to wartime conditions and a military dictatorship that led to the empire's demise. Insightful and bold in its revisions, this work deserves a wide readership. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --Romuald K. Byczkiewicz, Central Connecticut State University

The Habsburg Empire, located in modern Austria and Hungary, had a long and often turbulent existence. This new history is not an articulation of the succession of its rulers, nor is it a chronology of battles and imperial calamities. Rather, Judson's (Guardians of the Nation: Activists on the Language Frontiers of Imperial Austria) book addresses the question of how the Habsburg Empire worked and how much it has to teach the world about the dynamics of shared citizenship and the myriad ways people identify themselves politically. People of varying cultures and nationalities fell under its dominion, and managing that breadth of citizenry was a perennial challenge. Michael Page's reading captures something of the Austrian penchant for bureaucracy and organization. Verdict Recommended for those who enjoy sociopolitical histories of Europe.-Denis Frias, Mississauga Lib. Syst., Ont. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.