A Concise History of Austria

Steven Beller traces the remarkable career of Austria from German borderland to successful Alpine republic.

Steven Beller (Author)

9780521478861, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 4 January 2007

350 pages, 54 b/w illus. 8 maps
21.7 x 13.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.487 kg

'… the authors has successfully risen to the original challenge of being concise … the author has managed to write no simply a concise history, but also an interpretive one that can serve as a starting point for stimulating argument.' Journal of Austrian History Yearbook

For a small, prosperous country in the middle of Europe, modern Austria has a very large and complex history, extending far beyond its current borders. Today's Austrians have a problematic relationship with that history, whether with the multi-national history of the Habsburg Monarchy, or with the time between 1938 and 1945 when Austrians were Germans in Hitler's Third Reich. Steven Beller's gripping and comprehensive account traces the remarkable career of Austria through its many transformations, from German borderland, to dynastic enterprise, imperial house, Central European great power, failed Alpine republic, German province, and then successful Alpine republic, building up a picture of the layers of Austrian identity and heritage and their diverse sources. It is a story full of anomalies and ironies, a case study of the other side of European history, without the easy answers of more clearly national narratives, and hence far more relevant to today's world.

Introduction
1. The Eastern March, 1439
2. A.E.I.O.U., 1439–1740
3. Countering reform, 1740–1866
4. Empire on notice, 1866–1918
5. The land without qualities, 1918–1945
6. Austria Inc., from 1945
Conclusion
Guide to further reading.

Subject Areas: Politics & government [JP], Social & cultural history [HBTB], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]