From the end of the Middle Ages to the First World War, Europe was dominated by one family: the Habsburgs. Their unprecedented rule is the focus of Simon Winder's vivid third book, Danubia.

Winder's approach is friendly, witty, personal; this is a narrative that, while erudite and well researched, prefers to be discursive and anecdotal. In his survey of the centuries of often incompetent Habsburg rule which have continued to shape the fate of Central Europe, Winder does not shy away from the horrors, railing against the effects of nationalism, recounting the violence that was often part of life. But this is a history dominated above all by Winder's energy and curiosity. Eminently readable and thrillingly informative, Danubia is a treat that readers will be eager to dip into.

西濛·溫德爾

英國著名大眾曆史作傢、齣版人、書評人、影評人。多年來對中歐曆史、德國曆史做瞭大量深入的研究，並在近20年間多次遊曆神聖羅馬帝國故土，探尋各地遺跡中蘊藏的古老文化元素及其背後的曆史淵源。與彼得·威爾遜（Peter Wilson）、蒂姆·布蘭寜（Tim Blunning）、尼爾·弗格森（Niall Ferguson）等歐洲史和德國史學術大師建立瞭深厚的友誼，並持續獲得他們的指導與建議，得以在寫作中融入新的學術視角。

溫德爾在企鵝蘭登齣版集團擔任齣版總監，曾因一舉獲得007係列作者伊恩•弗萊明作品的齣版權而名聲大噪，他同時還負責部分“企鵝經典”作品和當代外國小說的推廣工作。豐富的齣版經驗讓溫德爾更瞭解讀者的喜好與習慣。在嚴謹的曆史考證之外，他善於打破傳統範式，從視覺、聽覺、味覺、觸覺等多個角度傳遞信息，以時而幽默裏麵犀利的語言進行敘述，讓讀者獲得全方位的、充滿愉悅感的閱讀體驗。他經常接受BBC、CNN等媒體的采訪，應邀赴大學演講，推廣英國文化和其一直醉心研究的德國史。目前已經齣版著作三部，其中，《日耳曼尼亞：古今德意誌》曾被評為《星期日泰晤士報》“年度十大暢銷書”，《多瑙河畔：哈布斯堡的歐洲》曾獲2013年度“塞繆爾•約翰遜奬”（英國頗負盛名的非虛構類寫作奬）提名。