A feat of both scholarship and storytelling(Wall Street Journal)the definitive historyof a powerful family dynasty who dominated Europe forcenturies.

InTheHabsburgs, Martyn Rady tells the epic story of a dynasty and the world it builtand then lostovernearly amillennium. From modest origins, the Habsburgs gained control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fifteenth century. Then, in a few decades, theirpossessionsrapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe, stretching from Hungary to Spain, and parts of the New World andthe Far East. The Habsburgs dominatedCentral Europe through the First World War.

Historians often depict the Habsburgs as leaders of aramshackleempire. But Rady reveals their enduring power, driven by the belief that they were destined to rule the world as defenders of the Roman Catholic Church, guarantors of peace, and patrons of learning.Thisis theremarkablehistory of a dynasty that forever changed Europe and the world.