Reviews
"This is a history of divided Hungary for our global age. In lively and accessible fashion, and with the help of fresh research, much of it his own, Géza Pálffy shows how the Hungarian kingdom lacked the resources and coherence to remain an independent state after its devastating defeat in 1526. Thus Hungary was actually fortunate, in transnational terms, to form the borderland of two well-matched empires, Habsburg and Ottoman, at least until the cumulative impact of unrelenting hostilities took its toll. Excellent maps, tables, and illustrations underline the authority of this outstanding reappraisal."—Robert J. W. Evans, University of Oxford
"A long-awaited English overview of two critical centuries of the Hungarian past recast in a fundamentally new framework by a leading historian of his generation. Smartly paced and beautifully illustrated, Pálffy's masterful study presents both the broader themes and general patterns of the period alongside a trenchant analysis of the struggles that faced the three parts of Hungary so delicately positioned between Habsburgs and Ottomans."—Howard Louthan, University of Minnesota
"Prof Pálffy has written a major work which will benefit the general public as well as university students and scholars of Early Modern Europe. Based on an exceptionally wide range of sources Prof Pálffy is convincingly recreating the world of the perilous but ultimately successful survival of the Kingdom of Hungary between the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman State during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries."—Nicolette Mout, Leiden University
"Pálffy's well-written and seamlessly translated study is a real tour de force. It does much more than narrate the two-century-long Ottoman-Habsburg tug of war over greater Hungary by covering its impact over every aspect of Hungarian society. The result is a comprehensive portrait of the kingdom's evolving institutions, infrastructure, economy, social fabric, culture and fateful demographic development. Seemingly every page contributes new information and fresh insights to its English-speaking audience. Readers will also appreciate an extensive timeline, helpful tables, rarely seen illustrations, and extraordinarily detailed maps."—Charles W. Ingrao, Purdue University
"In Hungary Between Two Empires 1526–1711, Géza Pálffy offers an authoritative account of the history of early modern Hungary. Pálffy provides the reader with an expert interpretation of Hungary's complex history within the Habsburg monarchy as well as clear analysis of both Ottoman Hungary and Transylvania. Pálffy's accomplished work explores Hungary's political history and also considers social, economic, cultural, and religious developments. Pálffy explains how new research is challenging some of the assumptions of earlier historiography on this turbulent period in Hungary's history. Supported by invaluable maps, images, and glossaries, this very readable book will be warmly received by all interested in the history of Hungary and Central Europe."—Graeme Murdock, Trinity College Dublin
"Pálffy offers a complex representation of the two centuries by not only depicting the military and political struggle for the liberation and the restoration of the unity of the Kingdom of Hungary. The result is a differentiated description of the developing institutions, infrastructure, economy, social structure and demographic development."—Marta Fata, Sehepunkte
"Written in an elegant and seductive way, well-balanced, with assessments that are not only unique, but also solidly argued, with an exceptional iconographic support (maps, illustrations etc.) wonderfully distributed throughout the book, professor Gèza Pálffy's book will surely impose itself as an original synthesis with a substantial echo among the readers who are both historians and history enthusiasts."—Ionut Costea, Philobiblon
"This important volume introduces English readers to one of the most critical periods of Central European history when "Hungary became the periphery and battleground of two empires, the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy." . . . Pálffy has written a masterpiece that goes well beyond introductory accounts so common in English-language academic publishing. The author provides both a window on the fascinating complexities of early modern Hungarian history as well as a refreshing reevaluation of traditional Hungarian historiography. In a more general sense, anyone interested in Central and Eastern Europe will appreciate how Pálffy illustrates the richness of Hungarian political, demographic, economic, and cultural developments. The book will benefit specialists, students, and general readers interested in the history of Hungary, its relationships with the Habsburg and Ottoman empires, and Hungary's place in early modern Europe. Students and scholars alike are well advised to put Pálffy's volume on their reading lists."—Georg B. Michels, University of California, Riverside, Hungarian Studies Review
"Filling a glaring lacuna in the English-language literature on late medieval and early modern Hungary, Pálffy's study critically challenges modern scholarship in ways that feel both timely and relevant given the troubling political climate in modern Hungary and much of the West."—Christopher M. Van Demark, New York University, Hungarian Cultural Studies
"Pálffy has written a masterpiece that goes well beyond introductory ac- counts so common in English-language academic publishing. The author provides both a window on the fascinating complexities of early mod- ern Hungarian history as well as a refreshing reevaluation of traditional Hungarian historiography. In a more general sense, anyone interested in Central and Eastern Europe will appreciate how Pálffy illustrates the rich- ness of Hungarian political, demographic, economic, and cultural devel- opments."—Georg B Michels - University of California, Hungarian Studies Review
"The present monograph by Géza Pálffy is intended as a survey work of the historical Kingdom of Hungary in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and is aimed decidedly at a broader public. At the same time, however, it also provides important impetus for discussions within the historical sciences. . . . The monograph is an inspiring overview that is definitely recommended reading."—Markus Koller, University of Bochum, Central European History
"A comprehensive English-language work like this on the history of early modern Hungary did not exist until now. It will certainly prove its worth to read for anyone dealing with Central Europe at this period."—Nicolette Mout, TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR GES CHIE DENIS
