Austria Books

Explosion is a completely different kind of history. Day to day it takes you through the Hungarian revolution of 1956 -- beginning with college students in towns and cities in Hungary deciding independently to free themselves from a communist and Russian dominated student organization to set up a democratic group. They were exhilirated with what they had done. After a decade of Russian domination, they were free at last! The AVO -- the Hungarian secret police -- did not take the student's independence lying down. They began to fight and kill students and workers. The students retailiated by capturing several Russian tanks. Soon there were thousands of students, workers, and others involved in a mass revolution. Matthews is an excellent writer. He takes you behind the scenes in Hungary and also in Moscow where Kruschev and other Russian leaders had to decide what to do with this uprising. They finally ordered their army to crush the revolution -- arresting and executing thousands of those who participated in this brief attempt at freedom. Meanwhile the Americans -- who were partly reponsible for the tragedy -- did nothing to help the students. The US had advocated the liberation of Eastern Europe through radio broadcasts -- but when the Hungarians listened and tried to liberate themselves, the US did nothing-- no food, no medicine, no support troops. This book is truly a page turner. Every page is filled with fascinating details. You will get involved with it, as I did, hoping against hope that these young people would succeed in winning their freedom. They failed and died or were imprisoned as a result of it. This is certainly one of the most exciting history books you will ever read. It is too bad that such books have not been written about other historical periods. It is a big book -- 700 pages. There are plenty of pages of notes -- which I did not read. It was comforting to know that they were there and that what I was reading was the real stuff. I can highly recommend John Matthews book to anyone who loves history.

The author's account of his own escape from Nazi run Vienna and his years in hiding in Holland create a suspenseful narrative that provides us with an insight into the personal struggle for existance during the World War II era. The reader will feel the tension of living beneath the noses of the SS as each day brings with it the chance of being revealed by a neighbor, collaborator or simply someone out to earn a few guilders. Yet Dan Kampelmacher remianed defiant, refusing to wear the yellow star under penalty of death. This is both a page-turner and a resource for scholars of the period. Not to be missed!

For those who have an incklng to study the Napoleonic era with the intent of learning about the flags of Napoleon and his enemies,this book is it. Very beautiful illustrations of the flags of the early 19th century France which were used in conflict against England,Russia and Prussia and others. A historians choice book on the subject.

This book is just as beautiful inside as is its' cover. You will not be disappointed but hopefully pleasantly surprised! I loved it.Florilegium Imperiale: Botanical Illustrations for Francis I of Austria

I'm not sure if I know of a better, thorough travel book than Fodor's Austria (or any other Fodor's guide). This book gives good background information for the major cities in Austria, and also points out noteworthy elements of other smaller, but equally interesting, burgs. It also provides essential elements you should know before embarking on your trip to Austria, covering such things as insurance, insect bites, and identity cards. Interspersed throughout the descriptions are occasional maps that give you bearing on where you are and where you're headed. The sections on Vienna, Salzburg, and Graz, Austria's three biggest cities, provide in-depth information and are useful for the first-time traveler or the seasoned veteran.
The one drawback is a pull-out map (there is a small map of Austria at the back of the book, but not very useful) that other Fodor's books have. And this book is in direct contrast to Eye-Witness Austria, a book that is overloaded with picture content. Fodor's Austria is mainly a text-oriented companion, but very useful for your trips around the country.

This City Guide is full of relevant information.
The city map that is included in the back is very detailed.
A great buy!

Every tune in this book is beautiful! They are authentic and fun to play. The titles are in Austrian with English translations and also the phonetic pronunciation for the Austrian. The music is from various provinces in Austria and include waltzes,marches, mazurkas, polkas,and laendlers. I love the harmonies! The book also comes with a nice comb binding so it lays flat on the music stand.

As an American that once lived a number of years in Vienna, Frederic Morton's continued ability to capture the intimate nuances of the streets, the sounds, the culture and the conflicted personalities of the Viennese draws me on through his novels. Not all of the characters, including Berek, are people you get close to or admire, but then that is part of the realism of the book. We are not entranced by everyone we know in our journey through life. The ultimate cruelty of their lifelong neighbors, partners and friends is all the more thought provoking for Berek's stubbornly human failings.

Morton's books have taught me a great deal about the history and culture of the city of the Viennese. The reasons behind many of the disasters that grew out of the reign of Emperor Joseph II over the Austrian Hungarian Empire began to make sense in all of their horror through Morton's telling of small events occurring during minute slices of time and place. Unlike his previous books, though, which taught me the history of the region, this book is a chronicle of a displaced family during an era of hardship. It places us squarely in the lives of people forced to leave everything they know and love in order to survive. The story of people coming to the big city of Vienna for work magically brings to life the day to day struggle of staying alive, keeping faith, finding friendship and love, building something of substance, and ultimately letting go of everything we believed in and all we know once more.

If you want to understand the historical background of the conflicts that erupted in Europe, dragging the rest of the world into one of the darkest moments of history, Morton's histories of the period are a must. If your goal is simply a great read, The Forever Street can take you there.

The intimate story of her life by one of her best friends who preferred to remain anonymous. Elisabeth was the wife of Emperor Franz Josef amd the mother of Prince Rudolph, heir to the throne who committed suicide with his mistress at Mayerling. She was a free spirit and one of the most beautiful women in the world at that time. Sadly she was assasinated at about the age of sixty.

This concise and helpful book came out in German in 1985. It was translated and published in English in 1988. The purpose of the book is not a biography of the composer, but to remove some of the sentimentalism that grew up around the composer almost immediately after his death at thirty-one in 1829. His friends said wonderful things about him and as the composer's fame grew, they got more attention by telling better stories.

Ernst Hilmar shows us how private music making in salons had been around since the Baroque and how these evening musical events evolved in Schubertiads. It was not so much something different than went on in other homes; it was just that the focus in these was the genius of a specific composer. We also get a chapter on the state of music publishing in Vienna and in neighboring countries. Schubert fared poorly with these businessmen. However, they were very grateful to have his publications once he died and his fame grew. Sound familiar?

The chapter on concert life in Schubert's time is quite interesting. The rise of the musical societies transformed what was a strong culture of amateur (in the good sense) music making into these mass festivals that we saw in, say, Mendelssohn's time. The chapter on the theater and the cult of Rossini in an otherwise moribund operatic life in Vienna helps us understand why Schubert failed to write a single successful opera in his life.

The chapter on dance music not only helps us understand its role in Schubert's output, we also get an idea of how the waltz evolved from something quite wild. It was banned not only for its indecent gyrations, but because it was so frantic before it became what we know today, that those who knew were sure that the rapid and deep breathing would lead to consumption. Schubert's dances focus more on the minuet, Laendler, the Ecossaise, and the popular Deutsch. It seems that the "vulgar" waltz was not sought out in Schubert's circles.

I also enjoyed the chapter on the literary scene with its censorship and its effect on Schubert's friendship with Mayrhofer once the poet became a censor. Schubert was a keen judge of poetry and its suitability for setting to his music. Some of the poets he selected were not so well known that he was likely to find them without someone point him to them. However, just as some of those singers who introduced the songs are very well known today but were insignificant and unknown in their life, some of the poets are famous only because Schubert made their works into immortal Leider.

The last chapter provides a summation and a vivid portrait of Schubert in his time with much of the romance about him removed. He tried to get work, was known - but not well known, had some publications - but not the major works we know today, he lived in Biedermeier Vienna - but was not himself so pedestrian, he was aware of Beethoven - but did not ape him.

There is a chronology of the composer's life, a bibliography, and an index of people referenced in the book.