THE HABSBURGS To Rule the World

The centuries fly by in this fine audiobook history of the Habsburg family. Rady's evenhanded story is enhanced by narrator Simon Bowie's steady, well-paced delivery. Bowie is a new voice to audiobook listeners, an ideal voice for comprehensive histories like this one, which is elegant but unaffected, mellow but brisk. The story is Europe's own, one of war, revolution, and endless shifts in borders. The Habsburg rise in the 1200s, derived from advantageous marriages and a "Fortinbras factor" of inheritance as Central Europe's warring families wiped each other out. Later Habsburgs married mostly other Habsburgs, at great cost to themselves and all of Europe. Several very good comprehensive audiobook histories of the Habsburgs already exist, but few match this one for fairness, clarity, and insight. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2020]