Reviews
Angus Robertson with his intimate knowledge of the city has brilliantly chronicled Vienna's history through the centuries and illustrated it with innumerable vignettes from contemporary observers. He has succeeded in painting a thoroughly enjoyable portrait of a great international capital'
Hella Pick, Celebrated Author and Former Guardian Foreign Correspondent
At the heart of Europe" is how the Viennese describe their city geographically. Thanks to Angus Robertson they now have a rollicking historical tribute to Vienna’s pivotal role through the ages as an international city - from Roman times to the modern day, via the Habsburgs and Hitler. Clearly smitten with his adopted city, Robertson carefully selects colourful contemporary accounts to bring the past to life, while importantly not shying away from Vienna’s darker moments'
Katya Adler, BBC Europe Editor
What an enjoyable cosmopolitan and exuberant celebration of Vienna by a someone who really knows and loves that great city'
Simon Sebag Montefiore
About the Book
Vienna is unique amongst world capitals in its consistent international importance over the centuries. From the ascent of the Habsburgs as Europe's leading dynasty to the Congress of Vienna, which reordered Europe after Napoleon, to bridge- building summits during the Cold War, it is the Austrian capital that has been the scene of key moments in European and world affairs.
History has been shaped by scores of figures influenced by their time in Vienna, including: Empress Maria Theresa, Count Metternich, Bertha von Suttner, Theodore Herzl, Gustav Mahler, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, John F. Kennedy and many others. In a city of great composers and thinkers it is here that both the most positive and destructive ideas of recent history have developed.
From its time as the capital of an imperial superpower, through war, dissolution, dictatorship to democracy Vienna has reinvented itself and its relevance to the rest of the world.
The Author
Angus Robertson
Angus Robertson is a Public Diplomacy consultant, with nearly 30 years' experience of the international media, front-line political and campaign experience. He is the former BBC Vienna correspondent and News Editor for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF). He entered the UK parliament as MP for Moray in 2001 and from 2007 to 2017 he was leader of the SNP in the House of Commons. After his election as an MSP in 2021 he is now the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture.You may also like…
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