Metternich and Austria

ALAN SKED is Senior Lecturer in International History at London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. He is a leading scholar on Nineteenth century Habsburg and diplomatic history. He has edited Europe's Balance of Power, 1815-1848 and is the author of The Decline and Fall of the Habsburg Empire 1815-1918 (2nd edition).

• PrefaceIntroduction: Has Metternich Been Misunderstood?What Part Did Metternich Play in the Downfall of Napolean?Was Metternich Europe's Leading Statesman in the Period 1815-1848?Did Metternich Plan to Federalise the Habsburg Monarchy?Was Metternich's Austria A Police State?Did Metternich's Austria Oppress the People and Cause Revolution in 1848?ConclusionBibliographyIndex.

'Sked needs no introduction: he is one of a handful of leading scholars on the Habsburg empire, as well as a marvellous writer, whose elegant style draws the reader painlessly through a rich text...It opens a door, as does no other work in English, to a fascinating and significant period of history, which, today, tends to be overlooked and is often misunderstood', - Professor J.R. Gillingham, University of Missouri-St.Louis, USA 'This is easily the best book written on Metternich in the last quarter century', - Professor John Charmely, University of East Anglia, UK 'the book...provides new stimuli for futher research...' - European History Quarterly