The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke

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William von Habsburg wore the uniform of the Austrian officer, the court regalia of a Habsburg archduke, and, every so often, a dress. As a teenager during WWI, he chose for his kingdom the exotic and unknown land of Ukraine. But the collapse of his Ukrainian dream made him, by turns, an ally of German imperialists, a notorious French lover, an angry Austrian monarchist, a calm opponent of Hitler, and finally a British spy against Stalin. Acclaimed historian Timothy Snyders The Red Prince offers an indelible portrait of a fascinating man who embodied the many contradictions of twentieth-century Europe.

Reviews

"Foreign Affairs"
"Not often does scholarly history soar and entrap like a fine historical novel, but here it does.... The book's real triumph is how it carries the reader from the gilt and pomp of the nineteenth century; through the dawn of a new century in war, the salacious lives of the high-born royal outcasts in 1930s Paris, and the shadow politics of Nazi Germany; and ultimately to the crushing weigh of Soviet occupation in postwar Eastern Europe. Snyder embeds all of this in a shrewd, sharp framing of the larger history before and during Wilhelm's life, ending with thought-provoking reflections on the links to the present."
Adam Zamoyski, "Spectator""
""Snyder is probably the most intelligent and sensitive historian working on East Central Europe today, and he is eminently fitted for the task of telling this tale. He has unearthed a wealth of unknown material and fascinating detail....A wonderful book, a gripping read full of surprises and memorable vignettes, which fills a gap in our knowledge and provides an accessible introduction to a badly neglected area of European history."

"Seattle Times"
"Deeply researched and beautifully written, "The Red Prince" captures in shimmering colors the death of old Europe and the continent's descent into barbarism. It abounds with a cast of unforgettable characters, from bloodthirsty nationalist strongmen and shady conspirators to alluring demimondaines and debauched nobles. Snyder, an award-winning historian at Yale University, has written a compelling biography as well as a vivid depiction of an era and offers insightful observations on the mutability of personal and national identity."
Mark Mazower, "Guardian"
"There are few historians who possess Timothy Snyder's winning combination of languages, stylish story-telling, and analytic insight; in "The Red Prince," he has produced a gem.... He is a sensitive writer, with a novelist's feel for language."
"Telegraph"
"A vivid portrait of a vanished world... superb, being both prodigiously researched and elegantly written."

Author Bio

Timothy Snyder is the Housum Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. He received his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 1997, where he was a British Marshall Scholar. Before joining the faculty at Yale in 2001, he held fellowships in Paris, Vienna, and Warsaw, and an Academy Scholarship at Harvard.

He has spent some ten years in Europe, and speaks five and reads ten European languages. Among his publications are several award-winning books, all of which have been translated: Nationalism, Marxism, and Modern Central Europe: A Biography of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz; The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999; Sketches from a Secret War: A Polish Artist's Mission to Liberate Soviet Ukraine; The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke; On Tyranny; and The Road to Unfreedom. He has written for publications including the New York Review of Books, the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, the Times Literary Supplement, Nation, the New Republic, the International Herald Tribune, and the Wall Street Journal.