To some, Clemens von Metternich was the arch-foe of liberty, the champion of reaction. To others, he was the most effective and far-sighted statesman of his age.

Born in Koblenz in 1773, Metternich was the perfect representation of his aristocratic class. His world was one of easy morals and elegant pleasures, but also of a stern sense of duty. Both love affairs and affairs of state filled a life marked by dazzling charm and cold cunning. Horrified by the ideas of the French Revolution, it was inevitable that Metternich should face the "upstart" Napoleon over the chessboard of diplomacy, with the fate of Europe at stake.

As Napoleon marched from victory to victory, Metternich, Foreign Minister of Austria, carefully forged the alliance of nations that would first entangle, then vanquish the seemingly invincible French Emperor. At the Congress of Vienna that followed Napoleon's defeat, he achieved his greatest triumph by skillfully playing one nation against the other to create a balance of power that for decades repressed all armed conflict and social upheaval throughout Europe.

Metternich's Holy Alliance was doomed to failure by the Industrial Revolution and the political storms that followed in its wake; but under his iron hand Europe had forty years of welcome peace. The fascinating story of a vain, arrogant, brilliant and dedicated diplomat whose skill shaped the history of Europe in his time.

From the book