Description |
viii, 344 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-332) and index. |
Contents |
Gold : the emperor's dream -- Blue : childhood at sea -- Green : Oriental Europe -- Red : Prince at arms -- Grey : shadow kings -- White : agent of imperialism -- Lilac : gay Paris -- Brown : aristocratic Facism -- Black : against Hitler and Stalin -- Orange : European revolutions. |
Summary |
Wilhelm Von Habsburg wore the uniform of the Austrian officer, the court regalia of a Habsburg archduke, the simple suit of a Parisian exile, the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and, every so often, a dress. He could handle a saber, a pistol, a rudder, or a golf club; he handled women by necessity and men for pleasure. In this exhilarating narrative history, historian Timothy D. Snyder offers an indelible portrait of an aristocrat whose life personifies the wrenching upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century, as the rule of empire gave way to the new politics of nationalism. Coming of age during the First World War, Wilhelm repudiated his family to fight alongside Ukrainian peasants in hopes that he would become their king. When this dream collapsed he became, by turns, an ally of German imperialists, a notorious French lover, an angry Austrian monarchist, a calm opponent of Hitler, and a British spy against Stalin. The Red Prince captures an extraordinary moment in the history of Europe, in which the old order of the past was giving way to an undefined future-and in which everything, including identity itself, seemed up for grabs. |
Subject |
Habsburg-Lothringen, Wilhelm, 1895-1949.
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Princes -- Austria -- Biography.
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Habsburg, House of.
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ISBN |
9780465002375 |
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0465002374 |
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