Customer Rating: 
Summary: One of the best histories of Austria available
Comment: This is one of the best books on the subject period available. Histories of Austria prior to the rise of Napoleon are rare, and while AJP Taylor's work is probably better written, it does not cover the period prior to 1809. The Habsburg Monarchy is well organized, contains an even-handed approach to Austrian history (it neither condemns the Monarchy as doomed to dissolution nor praises it as an early experiment in multi-ethnic nation building) and contains enough information on the individual emperors and empresses to bring them to life.
My only complaint is that ebb and flow of the major conflicts of this period (the Thirty Years War, the War of Spanish Succession, the War of Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years War) is given only brief attention and leaves the reader wanting to know more.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book on early Habsburg Monarchy
Comment: This is a great book that covers in good detail the rise of Austria under the rule of the Habsburg monarchy from the 30 Years War to the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Charles Ingrao gives great insight into the minds and personalities of all the Habsburg monarchs, including some of the less known ones like Ferdinand II and Joseph II. He explains how the nation had to develop from three kingdoms with one king to one nation under an emperor. Also covered is the role of the Habsburgs as Holy Roman Emperors and their dominance in Germany until the rise of Prussia in the mid 18th Century when Austria was forced to look east for power.
A more long lasting issue covered, that even has effects to the present day, is the issue of nationality and ethnicity within the empire. This is the issue that arguably brought the end to the multinational empire and has caused so many wars in the Balkans in the past two decades.
My only real complaint is that at times Ingrao can get a bit bogged down in the details, and it can be a little hard to follow. Also, it should be stated that the book is inevitably biased a bit toward Austria and therefore is slightly anti-Prussia and French at times.
Overall though, if you want a good overview on the development of the early Austrian monarchy this is a great choice.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Better than nothing
Comment: Habsburg history between Charles V and Metternich is almost a dead zone for Anglophone readers. The Thirty Years Wars sparks a bit of interest, as does Rudolphine Prague. But unless I am mistaken, there is no biography available in English of any of the Emperors from Ferdinand II until Maria Theresia. And even she hasn't received a serious study in English since Edward Crankshaw's in the 1960's. Louis XIV continues to receive regular biographies and specialist studies. Yet Leopold I, his great rival, who reigned for nearly 50 years (1658-1705), is almost completely ignored.Ingrao's book covers a lot of material in a fairly short space and is necessarily cursory in many respects. I also thought he was much more interested in the 18th century than the 17th. He clearly admires Maria Theresia, though is not blind to her faults, and treats Joseph II more kindly than he perhaps deserves. (Joseph seems to have been the perfect illustration of the dangers of what Michael Oakeshott famously called Rationalism in Politics).
Ingrao's treatment of the cultural contributions of the Habsburg Empire, its greatest legacy, is patchy. There is no mention of the great Austro-Bohemian composers of the 17th century - Biber, Schmelzer etc, nor of Fux in the 18th.
Still, as an up-to-date well-written survey of a complex and fascinating subject, Ingrao's book is very welcome.
Now all you post-doctoral history students, stop mucking about and start writing some detailed studies of the topics Ingrao could merely touch on.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Comment: I don't normally write book reviews but the subject matter of the most recent review (see below) has provoked me into a response. The Congress of Vienna in which the shape of post Napoleonic Europe was determined was from September 1814 to June 1815. It is important to understand that the congress was organized to "settle" things after Napoleon went into exile on Elba in 1814, and that it continued through the Hundred Days that ended at Waterloo. The egregious error cited below is not an error at all.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Comment: I don't normally write book reviews but the subject matter of the most recent review (see below) has provoked me into a response. The Congress of Vienna in which the shape of post Napoleonic Europe was determined was from September 1814 to June 1815. It is important to understand that the congress was organized to "settle" things after Napoleon went into exile on Elba in 1814. It continued through the Hundred Days that ended at Waterloo. The egregious error cited below is not an error at all.
