A slender review of the career of Austrian archconservative Prince Klemens von Metternich (1773-1859), whose vision of a Europe united became a reality briefly during the decade 1810-20, from prolific English historian Seward (Henry V, 1988, etc.). Tracing Metternich's rise to power in the period when Napoleon terrorized Europe and built his empire, the author reveals the astuteness and consummate political skill of the young diplomat. Appointed Austrian Ambassador to the French Court in 1806, the prince quickly took the measure of his adversary, eventually maneuvering him into the Habsburg fold through marriage to an archduchess and souring his alliance with Tsar Alexander. After Napoleon's fall, Metternich embarked on a quest to form a federated Europe, with Austria its center, keeping his hopes alive against conflicting national agendas through a series of congresses from 1814 to 1822—but European unity on such a scale did not suit the temper of the time, and his efforts proved in vain. As newly appointed chancellor for the Habsburgs, however, he ensured an interval of relative stability for Austria, until he was forced from power by the Marxist ferment of 1848. Honored as an elder statesman even through years of exile, counseling Disraeli and conferring with Bismarck, he returned home to continue in an unofficial capacity as royal advisor until his death in 1859. Seward gives a sense of this remarkable figure's accomplishments, including his many affairs of the heart and three marriages, but ultimately the account lacks luster as history and only skims the surface as biography. Timely but tepid, at times merely a patchwork of quotations, but nonetheless highlighting a powerful and controversial presence in the tapestry of modern Europe, still being woven today. (Eight pages of b&w photographs—not seen.)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-670-82600-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1991
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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