The Austrian Mind

"The old Austria, in all its diversity and unity, in its characteristic ambiguity, is impressively demonstrated."—Journal of European Studies

"The Austrian Mind is the first book in English or in German to analyze both in depth and in breadth the intellectual history of the Hapsburg Monarchy between 1848 and 1938. Based upon an impressive command of primary and secondary published sources, Johnston's book is a tour de force. In 400 pages of text the author evaluates the contributions of Austro-Hungarian intellectuals to economic, legal, and social theory, to the arts, to philosophy, to literature and criticism, and to medicine."—Annals

"It is hard to write about this encyclopedic and uncommonly informative and stimulating study in anything but superlatives, for it is equally brilliant in conception and execution. . . . it is replete with detail, remarkably accurate, and lucidly written."—Modern Austrian Literature

"A synoptic treatment of over seventy major and minor thinkers, artists, politicians, academics, and literati—all united under that beguiling and amorphous quality of 'being Austrian.' Johnston's singular achievement is to have given real and distinct meaning to this elusive category...Its subject-matter is interdisciplinary in the most authentic sense."—Clio

"Johnston paints a broad canvas; his erudition is vast, his command of the literature immense. . . . as a contribution to scholarship it stands alone in its field."—Virginia Quarterly Review