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Vienna 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna
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Average Rating:  out of 8 Reviews
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Price: $27.50
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Sale: $15.31
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Manufacturer: Harmony
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780307337160
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Hardcover
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Author: David King
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Publisher: Harmony
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Dewey Decimal Number: 940.2714
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Publication Date: 2008-03-11
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Reading Level: 448
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Description: “Reads like a novel. A fast-paced page-turner, it has everything: sex, wit, humor, and adventures. But it is an impressively researched and important story.”
—David Fromkin, author of Europe’s Last Summer
Vienna, 1814 is an evocative and brilliantly researched account of the most audacious and extravagant peace conference in modern European history. With the feared Napoleon Bonaparte presumably defeated and exiled to the small island of Elba, heads of some 216 states gathered in Vienna to begin piecing together the ruins of his toppled empire. Major questions loomed: What would be done with France? How were the newly liberated territories to be divided? What type of restitution would be offered to families of the deceased? But this unprecedented gathering of kings, dignitaries, and diplomatic leaders unfurled a seemingly endless stream of personal vendettas, long-simmering feuds, and romantic entanglements that threatened to undermine the crucial work at hand, even as their hard-fought policy decisions shaped the destiny of Europe and led to the longest sustained peace the continent would ever see.
Beyond the diplomatic wrangling, however, the Congress of Vienna served as a backdrop for the most spectacular Vanity Fair of its time. Highlighted by such celebrated figures as the elegant but incredibly vain Prince Metternich of Austria, the unflappable and devious Prince Talleyrand of France, and the volatile Tsar Alexander of Russia, as well as appearances by Ludwig van Beethoven and Emilia Bigottini, the sheer star power of the Vienna congress outshone nearly everything else in the public eye.
An early incarnation of the cult of celebrity, the congress devolved into a series of debauched parties that continually delayed the progress of peace, until word arrived that Napoleon had escaped, abruptly halting the revelry and shrouding the continent in panic once again.
Vienna, 1814 beautifully illuminates the intricate social and political intrigue of this history-defining congress–a glorified party that seemingly valued frivolity over substance but nonetheless managed to drastically reconfigure Europe’s balance of power and usher in the modern age.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: The dancing Congress |
Date: 2008-10-14 |
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Details: The Congress of Vienna, which met to parcel up the European territories scrambled by Napoleon's conquests, didn't appear to do an awful lot of work, according to this well-written book. It wasn't called "The Dancing Congress" for nothing, because it appears that every night there was some type of festivity. Considering all of the frivolity involved, it's amazing that any real work was done, and yet the Europe that the Congress established resisted a universal war for almost the next 100 years. That in itself is a remarkable achievement! The book has a breezy style and is easy to digest. My one quibble, and the reason this review has only four stars, is the lack of maps that might have given a better perspective on why there were so many problems with national boundaries. Other than that, the book was a very informative read, and I enjoyed it very much. |
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Review Summary: Nothing Changes Yet Everything is Completely Different |
Date: 2008-10-08 |
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Details: Vienna 1814
by David King
A Review by Colin J. Edwards
Published by Harmony Books $27.50 2008 434 pps.
"The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different." Aldous Huxley
Do not be confused by this book about the Congress of Vienna in 1814. It reads like a novel, but it is serious history as the almost 90 pages of "Notes & Sources" can testify. The style is easy: perhaps a little simplistic in places, but none-the-less an excellent read.
If your politics lean ever so slightly to the left, David King's book will drive you to distraction. It describes in detail how the privileged few, carved up Europe after Napoleon's abdication. It demonstrates the blatant greed and narcissism of Kings, Emperors and their Ministers.
We learn about the rich man's wars, but not too much about the poor man's fight. King takes us deeply into the chess game that was European politics, and we can see the mind-set that set Europe ablaze in 1914.
Well-behaved women rarely make history. Vienna 1814 confirms that in spades. I never cease to be amazed by man's inability to keep his level of concentration above his navel for more that limited periods. The future of Europe was never allowed to interfere with the latest sexual conquest. A 100 years later, nothing had changed. During cabinet meetings discussing the war in France, H.H.Asquith (Prime Minister), wrote love letters to Venitia Stanley. They were not very effective. She got engaged to one of his staff - but omitted to mention it.
There were however two notable exceptions to this broad condemnation of the `Powers that be'; and they were both English. The first was Robert Stewart - Lord Castlereagh, foreign secretary under Lord Liverpool, and the Duke of Wellington. Castlereagh did his best to get some sense out of the Congress, and was fired for his trouble. The Iron Duke took over and was fortunate that Napoleon skipped Elba and he was able to charge off to Waterloo and win the ultimate battle.
The frightening thing about this book is that nothing has changed. The Congress of Vienna was dominated by an aggressive Russia hell-bent on expansion. Replace Tsar Alexander with Mr Putin, and it is apparent that we have not progressed very far in the last 194 years. Rich man's war, poor man's fight - `twas ever thus.
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Review Summary: Detailed history of the decadent, do-little Congress of Vienna |
Date: 2008-08-17 |
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Details: David King has undertaken a difficult task with "Vienna 1814." The Congress of Vienna lives in relative infamy for failing to accomplish anything of importance in the wake of Napoleon's exile to Elba by a (temporarily) united Europe. Yet the Congress is notorious for its social excesses - perhaps the attendees weren't as venal as the worst of the Roman imperial family, but the decadence and foppery on display at the Congress highlight the appeal to many of the more austere young Republic across the Atlantic.
So what is King supposed to do other than relate anecdote after anecdote of romantic conquest, romantic intrigue, and romantic failure where so little successful diplomacy was to be found? The answer is, not much, other than to hunt for what few good things did occur.
I knew nothing about the Congress before picking up this book. So what I learned is that the leading lights of the Allies who defeated Napoleon - including the Austrian diplomat Metternich and the Russian Tsar Alexander - met in Vienna to try to create a blueprint for a lasting peace. And instead, France's ambassador, Tallyrand, led the Big 4 (Britain and Prussia in addition to Austria and Russia) around by the nose until the defeated France was among the biggest players at the Congress. Through skillful delaying and propaganda tactics, playing the Big 4's ambitions against the hopes and fears of the delegates from the smaller nations, and generally being the most shameless and intelligent rogue in a crowd of shameless and intelligent rogues, Tallyrand was able to block virtually any progress by the Congress.
While Tallyrand was turning everyone else in circles, the Congress danced, drank, and ate the weeks away as Vienna became a carnival of delights for the aristocracy in attendance. Most of the book tells the humorous, frustrating tales of these excesses, and how the young noblewomen in attendance used their beauty to distract the diplomats from their official duties. If you're a fan of royal excesses, this is the book for you.
Looming large over the Congress is the specter of Napoleon, and indeed his successful escape from Elba (which King has skillfully foreshadowed throughout the book) causes the Congress to shatter. Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, flies to France and confronts Napoleon at the fatal battle of Waterloo, which King describes in some detail.
And then it's to the aftermath of Waterloo, the final exile of Napoleon, and the negotiation of a lasting peace. King sets a tall order for himself, as the text of the book runs only 323 pages (there are several score pages of notes, sources, and a detailed index to give the book heft, as well as some helpful portraits from the period). He keeps the pace going, which is no small achievement given how the Congress achieved so little.
There are two camps with this Congress - that it achieved nothing, and that it achieved very much in the long term despite failing in its immediate objectives. King is in the latter camp, but he freely acknowledges the many failures of the Congress. This balanced approach makes "Vienna 1814" a worthy read, and King's eye for detail makes it an entertaining one. |
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Review Summary: The First Summit |
Date: 2008-05-25 |
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Details: Based on the Amazon reviews, "Vienna 1814" has raised some unexpected passions, given that it's an account of events almost two centuries past. David King has produced a solid and well written book that enlivens the story of the Congress of Vienna - and of Napoleon's hundred days - for the modern reader.
The title, homage to Margaret MacMillan's Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World, about the Peace conference that followed the First World War, is somewhat misleading. The Congress of Vienna never officially opened; rather, the world's leading statesmen of the time - Austria's Prince Metternich, France's Charles Talleyrand, Russia's Czar Alexander and Britain's Lord Castlereigh and the Duke of Wellington, and many others - have spent the summer and autumn of 1814, and the winter and spring of 1815 in Vienna. There they have quarreled, argued and negotiated - but also danced, drank and fornicated - and shaped the future of Europe.
David King tells with equal ease both the social and the political tales of Vienna in those months. He narrates his heroes in the stateroom and in the ballroom, in love and war, in work and play. This is both an advantage and a weakness of the narrative. On the one hand, King captures the spirit of the Congress - the balls and masquerades, the splendor, the gossip - and allows the reader to feel some of what the protagonists must have felt. On the other hand, the love lives of the Rich and Famous of the 19th century are not nearly as exciting to the modern reader as they were to the contemporary observer. Did the Duchess Sagan end up in the arms of her longing prince Metternich? Do you really care?
For those who are, like me, interested in political history, the diplomatic angle of the gathering is the most interesting. Although the Congress dealt with a series of issues - from the abolition of the slave trade to the emancipation of the Jews - its focus was on the redrawing of the map of Europe given the shock administered to it by the Napoleonic Wars. Three issues were of particular importance: The Fates of Poland, Saxony, and the Kingdom of Naples.
In Poland, the Russians wanted to create a (theoretically independent but realistically) puppet state. The Prussians eyed the Kingdom of Saxony and wanted to annex it. The two powers agreed to back each other's claims, to the detriment of the other Europeans countries, particularly Britain and France, who feared the increase in the countries' power.
The Kingdom of Naples was a problem as it has been ruled by Joachim Murat. Napoleon's brother in law and former general. None of the powers felt particularly happy about keeping a creature of Bonaparte's in power - but no one felt like starting a war to get rid of him, either.
The problems of Saxony and Poland ended in compromise - both Russia and Prussia got some of what they have wanted, but not everything. The Polish puppet state was smaller than the Czar had initially wanted, but it was enough. The Kingdom of Saxony, albeit in a reduced state, regained its independence, with Prussia taking part of its territory, as well as other territories in Germany.
The Murat problem would only be resolved with a larger crisis - the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The Corsican Emperor, having been exiled to the small Mediterranean island of Elba in early 1814, has left the island after 9 months and 21 days. After landing in France, he made his way to Paris. The population and the army, sick of the unpopular King Louis XVIII, clung to him. He took over Paris "without firing a shot". Europe was at war again.
King's narration of the Waterloo campaign, and of the battle of minds between Napoleon and Wellington is masterly. The chapters on the campaign are unputtdownable, and "Vienna 1814" offers the first description of a battle in which I did not feel the absence of maps. It is amazingly tense, even though we know how it all ends.
After his defeat, Napoleon faced a rebellion in Paris. Rather than storm his own capital, he abdicated again. During his brief return, Murat had tried and failed to conquer Italy. The Austrians thus disposed of him and of the dilemma of the Kingdom of Naples.
King's fascinating story ends with a story of the rest of his heroes' lives, and with a short reflection on the consequences and significance of the Congress of Vienna. This is, unfortunately, the least satisfactory aspect of his book. Three of the most important elements of 19th and 20th century European history - the long peace of 1815 to 1914, the increase in Prussia's power, and the creation of a British French alliance - arguably originated in, or at least were influenced by - the Congress. How did that happen? Could things have gone differently, and should they have? King's answers are more descriptive than analytic.
That aside, Vienna 1814 is an extremely well written book, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in European History or the Napoleonic Wars. |
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Review Summary: The First Fully Documented League Of Nations |
Date: 2008-05-22 |
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Details: An excellent overview of the effort to restore the old order from the wreckage of the Napoleonic Wars, which wound up fostering a new order that none of the victors even remotely anticipated. The Congress of Vienna was perhaps the first recorded rational approach to mutually resolving international problems. The processes that were developed and described in the book, many still used to this day, worked for just short of a century, with only a few minor skirmishes that were remarkably well contained. The various participants' personalities, and their changing perceptions and evolving participation, are remarkable as their narrow interests eventually coalesce through a series of convenient compromises. One of the more interesting narratives was how France adroitly handled itself, moving from something not short of an outcast nation, to finally being accepted as a regular club member. Equally interesting is how the victors, united while fighting Napoleon, were prone to fighting among themselves during the proceedings. More than a narrative of the flow of the meetings and conferences, the book also examines the participants' societies as seen through the eyes and emotions of the rulers. The 33 chapters are augmented by extensive and detailed notes and source references, and polished with an epilog. A delightful read. |
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