Thunder at Twilight: Vienna 1913/1914

The Pink Sugar on display inside the Hofburg Palace

By Frederic Morton, DaCapo Press, 2001

This is a companion volume to Morton's A Nervous Splendor: Vienna 1888/1889 and rounds out his history of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  His histories are compulsively readable and very enjoyable.  Sweeping, synthetic overviews like this are a good first step in learning about the past.