From the palaces of the Habsburg Empire to the torture chambers of Stalin's Soviet Union, the extraordinary story of a life suspended between the collapse of the imperial order and the violent emergence of modern Europe. Wilhelm Von Habsburg wore the uniform of the Austrian officer, the court regalia of a Habsburg archduke, the simple suit of a Parisian exile, the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and, every so often, a dress. He could handle a saber, a pistol, a rudder, or a golf club; he handled women by necessity and men for pleasure. He spoke the Italian of his archduchess mother, the German of his archduke father, the English of his British royal friends, the Polish of the country his father wished to rule, and the Ukrainian of the land Wilhelm wished to rule himself. In this exhilarating narrative history, prize-winning historian Timothy D. Snyder offers an indelible portrait of an aristocrat whose life personifies the wrenching upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century, as the rule of empire gave way to the new politics of nationalism. Coming of age during the First World War, Wilhelm repudiated his family to fight alongside Ukrainian peasants in hopes that he would become their king. When this dream collapsed he became, by turns, an ally of German imperialists, a notorious French lover, an angry Austrian monarchist, a calm opponent of Hitler, and a British spy against Stalin. Played out in Europe's glittering capitals and bloody battlefields, in extravagant ski resorts and dank prison cells, The Red Prince captures an extraordinary moment in the history of Europe, in which the old order of the past was giving way to an undefined future--and in which everything, including identity itself, seemed up for grabs

【作者简介】

蒂莫西·斯奈德（Timothy Snyder，1969—）当今美国杰出的历史学家之一，现为耶鲁大学历史系教授、维也纳人文科学学院终身研究员，主要研究方向为现代东欧史。是美国历史学会颁发的乔治·路易·比尔奖获得者，获奖著作为《民族的重建：波兰、乌克兰、立陶宛、白俄罗斯：1569-1999》（ The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999）；还因为《一幅秘密战争的素描：一位解放苏维埃乌克兰的波兰艺术家》（Sketches from a Secret War: A Polish Artist’s Mission to Liberate Soviet Ukraine）而获得专业历史著作奖；《红色王子》（The Red Prince）被美国乌克兰研究学会选定为乌克兰历史研究领域最佳图书。另有《黑暗世界：作为历史和警示的大屠杀》（Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning）等。他的最新著作为《血色大地：希特勒与斯大林之间的欧洲》（Bloodlands：Europe Between Hitler and Stalin）。此外，以对话的方式，斯奈德帮助他的朋友、著名历史学家托尼·朱特在弥留之际完成了最后一本书《思虑20世纪》。其著作获得了包括艾默生人文奖、汉娜·阿伦特奖等在内的12项大奖。此外，他还是《现代欧洲历史期刊》和《东欧政治和社会》的编委之一，其文章常常见诸《纽约书评》《外交事务》《新共和》《纽约时报》《华尔街日报》等媒体。

斯奈德教授如今居住在康涅狄格州纽黑文市。

【译者简介】

黎英亮，华南师范大学历史文化学院讲师，历史学博士，研究方向为欧洲史，著有《何谓民族？》，译有《野蛮大陆》《天生幸存者》等。

冯茵，华南师范大学外国语言文化学院讲师，语言学在读博士。