"For any parent worried about self-esteem, this is a full-service guide on what to watch for and what can be done to bring up a confident child"

In 1848, an 18-year-old boy assumed the throne of Austria, one of the most powerful countries in Europe. He would be its last significant emperor, the only monarch to serve two countries, and the last cogent head of the prestigious Habsburg dynasty. Emperor Franz Joseph's reign was marked by revolutions, often fueled by rising liberalism and nationalism, and wars orchestrated by conquering architects such as Napoleon, Metternich, and Bismarck.

This book gives attention to these political and cultural events, but it is essentially a biography of Emperor Franz Joseph and his enigmatic...

Monet's flowering poppy fields of Vetheuil, Renoir's glimpses of trees in full leaf with contrasts of orange-blue, red-green and yellow-purple sun-flooded patches; Degas' dancers painted from radical perspectives; Cezanne's dynamic explosions of light that made simple fruits come alive, and Manet's cafe scenes that served as fascinating windows into the actuality of Parisian social life ... today we admire their brilliance. Their paintings captured the Paris vie insouciante so non-reflective of the world of art in the mid-1800s. Artistic renderings that did not display historical subjects,...