I should start this by saying that I adored Germania.... also that I, like Simon Winder, have a strange fascination with Central Europe. It is thanks to this fascination that I was lucky enough to spend a couple of years living in the wonderful city of Vienna, and that I have made several visits to other central European cities such as Prague, Brno, Bratislava Kutna Hora etc.... I've also been lucky enough to ski in the Tyrol.... all in all you could say that I am smitten with the region, and that I do know a reasonable amount about the crazy customs and histories of at least some of it. Danubia is then, pretty much the book for me. Danubia is a slightly loopy history of the huge area that came under Hapsburg rule, this includes the Spanish realm at least until the split during the counter reformation; and thanks to the vast area that fell into the sphere of 'Holy Roman Empire' it is a history of the Europe that falls between the French and Russian borders. There is so much that could be covered, and to be honest Winder really does seem to touch on just about everything. We have mummies and relics, escaped lions and free roaming tigers, battles and assassinations. Everything is here. As with Germania the whole book is brought together with an eye for the ridiculous little details and with a dry wit that is similar in style to Bill Bryson; in fact I am now thinking that a travel show involving the two authors exploring some of the kookier aspects of europe sounds like an amazing plan. Yes there are things missing, the topic is so enormous that it would be impossible for there not to be ommissions. Some of these could prove controversial, Winder makes no bones about cutting the whole history of Empress Sissi and of the Mayerling incident for example, however the items that are left out are so generally well known that their loss is of little consequence. Overall this is a wonderful, funny and fascinating book packed full of little gems.

Danubia is a charming, witty, and readable romp through the history of Habsburg Europe. I found it an enjoyable way to fill in the gaps that had been left in my knowledge of European history. The author's personal love of music shines through the work and helps provide a framework upon which to build a knowledge of history. Because of frequent reference to recent visits to relevant historical sites, this book would be good background reading for travellers to Central Europe.

A wonderfully written follow-up to Winder's Germania, full of Winder's trademark wit and fascinating snippets of life under the Habsburg empire. My only wish would be for an enclosed family tree...

Simon Winder is clearly passionate about his subject matter and that passion really shines through in his writing style, but I just felt that he bit of a bit more than a book of this size could chew. Danubia is well researched and structured, but I just felt that such a huge chunk of Habsburg history was too great a topic to tackle in a single volume. The book would have been better served by focusing on smaller, more interesting parts of Habsburg history rather than trying to give such an overarching focus. I found myself getting overloaded with information and names and dates and not remembering much of it because by the time it had sunk in we'd already moved on to the next subject. If Winder split this in to a volume of books on the same subject matter going in to more detail on each period of history and person of note, while including some of the funnier, quirkier stories that make history so enjoyable, I would certainly read them. He does have a talent for writing history in an entertaining and engaging manner. It would be nice to see what he could do with a topic or focus that doesn't cast its net so widely.