Although he gives the more familiar Spanish Habsburgs their due in this riveting study, Martyn Rady rightly restores the primacy of central Europe to the dynasty, which, born of modest roots in Switzerland and Swabia, became Holy Roman Emperors in 1452 ... One relishes Rady’s wry asides and little gems of knowledge ... In less able hands this complex tale could be mired in convolution, but Rady, a professor of central European history at University College London, is a lucid and elegant writer — historians are advised to follow his model of economy and concision. It is impossible to imagine a more erudite and incisive history of this fascinating, flawed and ultimately tragic dynasty.

... deeply informed, elegantly written and a joy to read. It also shows the Habsburg world to have been even more bonkers than I had thought ... a serious traditional history from the top down — the mass of people only come into it in order to revolt from time to time, usually only to be appropriately repressed. But don’t think that makes it boring. The author scatters asides as treats to keep us gripped, most of which could be books on their own ... It would take a great book to tell this unbelievable tale. Fortunately, Rady has written it.

... [Rady] has produced a Rolls-Royce of a narrative that motors through ten centuries of history with an effortlessness that belies the intellectual horsepower beneath the bonnet ... In less able hands, a narrative canvas as broad as this would sag and unravel. Not so here. Themes and contexts are crisply delineated. Major developments – in the spheres of culture and ideas, economy and society, diplomacy and war – are seamlessly introduced. And the vast cast of characters is depicted with a mix of insight, sympathy and astringent Gibbonian wit that makes them instantly memorable ... It is not the least of Martyn Rady’s achievements that his book sheds light on the present almost as brightly as it illuminates the past.

Mr. Rady adds to a growing body of research challenging the conventional view of Habsburg rulers as 'gaolers of nations' who suppressed the vitality of the cultures they governed ... Mr. Rady’s book can be seen as a kind of family portrait of the Habsburgs as rulers, schemers, dreamers and procreators. It’s a big task...Most historians have chosen to highlight some sliver of their story, but this volume takes it all in. That Mr. Rady can, in under 350 pages, cover everything from the division of the family’s lands in the Swiss Argau in 990 to the surrender of power in 1918 by Charles, the last Habsburg monarch, without sacrificing essential details or losing the reader’s attention, is a feat of both scholarship and storytelling ... There are shortcuts: Mr. Rady flies through the 20-year struggle with Napoleon and gives Franz Joseph’s wars with Italy and Prussia just a few sentences apiece. But what Mr. Rady neglects in statecraft he more than makes up for in colorful pen portraits of Habsburg rulers and the artistic, scientific and cultural accomplishments of their reigns ... Still, by the book’s end, readers are left wondering how exactly the Habsburgs pulled it all off.

Rady has set himself the task of writing a readable account of the rise and fall of this remarkable dynasty, and his sparkling study is certainly a good place to start ... How to tell both the family story and explore the larger history of the empire’s subjects is probably an impossible task. Yet without the latter, the former loses much of its meaning. Conscious of the challenge, Rady gives the reader rich material on the rise of nationalism, the intellectual and cultural atmosphere of the times, and — in some of the most striking passages — the empire’s global reach down into the 19th century. At the same time, there are gaps: there is relatively little on the empire’s economic or infrastructural issues, and while nationality politics is thoughtfully discussed, connections with industrialisation, class consciousness and urbanisation remain opaque ... Rady avoids apologetics. Yet he lets them off the hook too easily as we enter the modern era.

... a granular yet accessible survey of the Habsburg Empire’s central role in the transformation of Western civilization from the Middle Ages into the modern world ... Packed with names, dates, and accounts of little-known wars, Rady’s prose is more easily digested in standalone chapters than as a linear narrative. This comprehensive account provides an insightful overview of seven centuries of European history.

... [an] ambitious overview ... Because the empire over which the Habsburgs reigned was enormous, nonacademic readers may find it difficult to keep track of all the names and dates. Nevertheless, Rady valiantly attempts to give the principals some distinct accomplishments and traits ... A comprehensive and, at times, lively chronicle, but not for casual readers with no prior knowledge of European history.