--- product_id: 15660673 title: "The Austrians: A Thousand-Year Odyssey" price: "€ 49.81" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 11 url: https://www.desertcart.de/products/15660673-the-austrians-a-thousand-year-odyssey store_origin: DE region: Germany --- # The Austrians: A Thousand-Year Odyssey **Price:** € 49.81 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Austrians: A Thousand-Year Odyssey - **How much does it cost?** € 49.81 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.de](https://www.desertcart.de/products/15660673-the-austrians-a-thousand-year-odyssey) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The Austrians: A Thousand-Year Odyssey [Brook-Shepard, Gordon] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Austrians: A Thousand-Year Odyssey Review: Great book about the evolution of Austria as a country and as a people - When I look at a map of Europe, Austria has always been a puzzle to me, primarily because of its non-alignment with rest of Western Europe. This book has helped me to be less puzzled by Austria and, maybe, to better understand Austrians. Review: Pretty Good - This was very well-written. But, as many here have pointed out, the book seems to exclusively focus on the 19th and 20th centuries, and the previous eight hundred years take up around 80 pages, I think. Now while this book was very informative and dispersed interesting anecdotes among all that history, I really do wish it focus on all thousand years of that odyssey. One must also keep in mind that this boo is from the 90s, and therefore, slightly dated. However, it is understandable why Brook-Shepherd didn't focus on earlier Austria. His primary sources, especially the people he knows, are big players in the 20th century Austria. And he begins the book with explaining that for some reason it took so long for Austrians to mark themselves as something other than a German-state, even with the empire attached to them. I might be wrong, but he seems to be describing the history of the Austrian identity as well, especially with the really interesting analysis of Austrian, and specifically, Viennese character. He notices trends in Austrian history, such as the deciders of its fate have usually not been Austrians themselves. And this really was a good book to look into if you want a good history of the country. It seems that for learnin about Austria's earlier history it might be more prudent to focus on the history of the HRE and the Hapsburgs. In conclusion, I enjoyed this book. It wasn't very "dry", mostly because of my interests, and it did teach me many things. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,187,699 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #13,463 in European History (Books) #26,309 in World History (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (52) | | Dimensions | 6 x 1.33 x 9 inches | | ISBN-10 | 0786711027 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0786711024 | | Item Weight | 1.7 pounds | | Language | English | | Print length | 512 pages | | Publication date | December 23, 2002 | | Publisher | Basic Books | ## Images ![The Austrians: A Thousand-Year Odyssey - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71eQcrgKziL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great book about the evolution of Austria as a country and as a people *by G***M on July 20, 2025* When I look at a map of Europe, Austria has always been a puzzle to me, primarily because of its non-alignment with rest of Western Europe. This book has helped me to be less puzzled by Austria and, maybe, to better understand Austrians. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pretty Good *by R***A on March 2, 2013* This was very well-written. But, as many here have pointed out, the book seems to exclusively focus on the 19th and 20th centuries, and the previous eight hundred years take up around 80 pages, I think. Now while this book was very informative and dispersed interesting anecdotes among all that history, I really do wish it focus on all thousand years of that odyssey. One must also keep in mind that this boo is from the 90s, and therefore, slightly dated. However, it is understandable why Brook-Shepherd didn't focus on earlier Austria. His primary sources, especially the people he knows, are big players in the 20th century Austria. And he begins the book with explaining that for some reason it took so long for Austrians to mark themselves as something other than a German-state, even with the empire attached to them. I might be wrong, but he seems to be describing the history of the Austrian identity as well, especially with the really interesting analysis of Austrian, and specifically, Viennese character. He notices trends in Austrian history, such as the deciders of its fate have usually not been Austrians themselves. And this really was a good book to look into if you want a good history of the country. It seems that for learnin about Austria's earlier history it might be more prudent to focus on the history of the HRE and the Hapsburgs. In conclusion, I enjoyed this book. It wasn't very "dry", mostly because of my interests, and it did teach me many things. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Austrians: an engrossing read *by L***L on April 2, 2010* A fascinating book. As an Austrian, I very much enjoyed reading this book, as I am not used to encountering history books on my own country in English. Although it was rather biased (Gordon Brook-Shepherd, the author, vehemently insisted that Austrians have no sense of national identity, something which quite a few people would object to), it was well argued, and a fascinating read into the much-unknown world of the Austrians, formerly an important nation until the First World War came along, flattened their massive empire, and left them to wallow in their own nostalgia and self-pity, having to put up being a second-rate nation after having experienced Imperial glory under the Habsburg emperors. Gordon Brook-Shepherd puts forward a balanced account of the Nazi years, delicately addressing the status of the Austrian nation at the time. Brook-Shepherd, I believe, accurately depicts the Austrians, as idyllic, ever cheerful people who are more concerned with their wine, food, and merry-making, than what goes on around them. Definitely a thumbs-up! --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.de/products/15660673-the-austrians-a-thousand-year-odyssey](https://www.desertcart.de/products/15660673-the-austrians-a-thousand-year-odyssey) --- *Product available on Desertcart Germany* *Store origin: DE* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*