Metternich and Austria : an evaluation /

Each of the six chapters in this well-written volume asks a salient question that has helped define the great Austrian chancellor's significance and reputation. Was he really Europe's leading statesman? Did he plan to federalize the Habsburg empire? Did he create a truly oppressive police state? Most of the answers judge Metternich positively, beginning with the brilliant diplomacy that sent Napoleon to defeat and ending with a society that was far more stable, prosperous, and content than most of its neighbors. There is not a lot of new information here, in part because there has not been much published about Metternich over the past few decades, and virtually nothing at all in English. Nonetheless, Sked (London School of Economics) expands on the historiographical focus of the Metternich chapter in his excellent The Decline and Fall of the Habsburg Empire (CH, Oct'89, 27-1093); indeed, the author extensively discusses--and debunks--the theses of Paul Schroeder's landmark The Transformation of European Politics (CH, Dec'94, 32-2317). This is certainly a welcome update for scholars, as well as for classroom instructors in search of a book that poses questions for student debate. Alas, this may explain the book's flippant but provocative characterization of liberal and nationalist revolutionaries as "terrorists," without bothering to define the term. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries. C. Ingrao Purdue University