Vienna 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna
Written by David King
Narrated by Mel Foster
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Despite the gravity of the situation, the Hapsburg Emperor of Austria, in opening his splendid rococo palace to the European royals and providing elaborate banquets and lavish entertainments, set the stage for the most extravagant pageantry since the fall of the Roman Empire. Guests were swept up in the dazzling whirlwind of social events-masquerades, hunts, and elaborate dinners-even as maps were being redrawn, rulers reinstated or ousted, and fortunes transferred. Ultimately, the Congress of Vienna ushered in the longest period of peace Europe has ever known. Vienna 1814 is a rich, impeccably researched history of the intrigue and frivolity that would forever mark the Congress of Vienna as the greatest Vanity Fair of all time.
David King
David King is the New York Times bestselling author of Death in the City of Light, Vienna 1814, and Finding Atlantis. A Fulbright Scholar with a master's degree from Cambridge University, King taught European history before becoming a full-time writer. His books have been translated into several languages, including Chinese, Turkish, Polish, Korean, Italian, Swedish and Russian. Film rights have been sold in Death in the City of Light.
More audiobooks from David King
Six Days in August: The Story of Stockholm Syndrome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Jewish Poets from Moses to Hannah Senesh: The most comprehensive collection available of Jewish poets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Vienna 1814
Related audiobooks
The Family Medici: The Hidden History of the Medici Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Venetians: A New History: From Marco Polo to Casanova Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Napoleon's Wars: An International History, 1803-1815 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lotharingia: A Personal History of Europe's Lost Country Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Upheaval Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Crossroads of Civilization: A History of Vienna Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Emperor Charlemagne Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5King John: Treachery and Tyranny in Medieval England: the Road to Magna Carta Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Checkmate in Berlin: The Cold War Showdown That Shaped the Modern World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Life in a Medieval City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51917: Lenin, Wilson, and the Birth of the New World Disorder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Francis I: The Maker of Modern France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Germania: In Wayward Pursuit of the Germans and Their History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hundred Years War: The English in France 1337-1453 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51848: Year of Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hitler and the Habsburgs: The Fuhrer's Vendetta Against the Austrian Royals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Habsburg Empire: A New History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Europe in the High Middle Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emperor: A New Life of Charles V Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
International Relations For You
Palestine Peace Not Apartheid: Peace Not Apartheid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ghosts of Langley: Into the CIA's Heart of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Who Rules the World? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From Beirut to Jerusalem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Diplomacy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/563 Documents the Government Doesn't Want You to Read Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Breaking History: A White House Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5JFK vs. Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Because We Say So Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Case for Israel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Arc of a Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish People Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood Brothers: The Dramatic Story of a Palestinian Christian Working for Peace in Israel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Catch-67: The Left, the Right, and the Legacy of the Six-Day War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales from the Pentagon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Age of Walls: How Barriers Between Nations Are Changing Our World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Vienna 1814
7 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lightly written; very light view. The characters and stories fun.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A complex tale told vividly from 30,000 ft, so to speak, with connections through to C20. The narration is marred, sometimes hilariously, by enthusiastic and well meaning mispronunciations that seem to me the epitome of Americanised tour guides in Europe. The battle of Waterloo and the uncertain love-lives of the major players stand out as particularly dramatic and well-told tales. Recommended for general readers who want a broad look at a major piece of history that remains nevertheless not easily reducible to a single story.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book is a piece of serious scholarship, based on hundreds of sources, with detailed analysis of the facts. It is also highly readable with a cast of hundreds of characters, many of whom were the crowned heads of Europe but who were also mad, bad, and dangerous to know. The whole event becomes somewhat surreal when you learn that the full Congress never met. Yet out of the deliberations of the participants who often worked through informal get togethers at the lavish salons and balls, came arrangements for a post-Napoleon era where some international borders are still recognisable today. Insightful and well-written, this is a story to ponder over and wonder how so much could be achieved affecting so many people.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oh so good, but drags just a touch.