COLOSSUS OF EUROPE: Metternich

by Jules Archer ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 23, 1970

In fustian profusion, the man who checkmated Bonaparte--to reign as something of a Napoleon himself. Metternich strived to become ""the architect of an enduring European peace"" and tried, to that end, to shape Austria into its ""fulcrum . . . keeping an even balance of power on both sides."" His real adversary was nationalism: if he espoused conservatism, his goal of continental harmony was essentially progressive; and he was not ideologically reactionary but rather a functional chameleon, never compromising his methodical madness. A ladies' man (by design and disposition) and above all the diplomat's diplomat, ""Prince"" (by decree) Metternich was defeated by the Industrial Revolution, whose momentum he ignored and whose power he therefore, fatally, failed to harness. The many wordy ""webs"" here of ""intrigue"" and ""entanglement"" tend to insulate the Colossus from history, because only a spidery framework is projected for placing him. The internal controversy is argued with care--but not with dispatch and not for beginners.

Pub Date: March 23, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Messner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION