The Danube: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)

Andrew Beattie has written a splendid book about the Danube River, which he claims is unsurpassed among the world's rivers "for the sheer historical richness of the cities and landscapes through which it passes" -- a contention that, by book's end, seems plausible.Although the subtitle characterizes the book as a cultural history, it is more than that. At a basic level, it is a guide down the 1,777 miles of the Danube, from the southwestern corner of Germany to the Black Sea. Beattie discusses the stretches of the river that are scenic marvels, such as the Wachau, the Danube Bend, and the Iron Gates and Kazan Gorges. He points out notable sites along the river -- castles, citadels, and cathedrals (as well as docks, dams, and refineries). And he discusses in moderate detail its major cities, of which "the loveliest and most elegant" is Budapest.In addition, Beattie reviews relevant events from history, among them: The Battle of Blenheim, fought along the Danube in 1704, at which armies under the Duke of Marlborough routed French and Bavarian armies, thereby turning the tide of the War of the Spanish Succession. The "Limes Romanus", the line of Roman fortifications along the Danube (primarily its south bank) by which Rome in its heyday protected its Empire from barbaric hordes to the north. Numerous sites of momentous battles between East (the Mongols and Ottomans and Turks) and West. The Nazi era along the Danube, including Hitler growing up in Linz, the Anschluss by which Nazi Germany incorporated Austria into the Reich, and the horrendous slave labor camp at Mauthausen. And, fighting along the Danube in the early stages of the Balkan wars triggered by the breakup of Yugoslavia.Finally, there is a "cultural" dimension to the book, including "Das Nibelungenlied", "The Blue Danube Waltz", and various legacies of the Turks scattered along the river from Budapest through Bulgaria and Romania.For a book of its genre, THE DANUBE: A CULTURAL HISTORY is very smoothly written. From time to time Beattie refers to accounts of the Danube by earlier traveller/writers -- primarily Patrick Leigh Fermor (in "A Time of Gifts"), Negley Farson, Tristan Jones, and Bill and Laurel Cooper -- and he deftly incorporates into his book assorted quotes from theirs. THE DANUBE also contains four useful maps and about sixty black-and-white photographs (presented, oddly, without captions, though usually one can infer from the text what their subject is).I have read many "travel books" over the years. Most of the very best (such as the aforementioned "A Time of Gifts" by Leigh Fermor) have literary pretensions and qualities. Others aim to be simply informative. I place Beattie's THE DANUBE among the most distinguished of that latter category. If in the future I were to travel any appreciable stretch of the Danube, I would want to do so with Beattie's book.

If you want to understand the Danube, its peoples, history and geography, this is the book to read. Those who have rated it poorly obviously had guidebook expectations. It is, and is intended to be, much more than a guidebook. Recommended for all who sail along the Danube and want to know more than Lonely Planet and the like will tell you.

Read this prior to a Viking cruise down the Rhine and Danube. Pretty good overview of the river. It is nice to read some history about a place rather than just a guidebook view of sites to visit. This one won't overwhelm with detail but provides enough background to inform your travels.

I bought this book in preparation for a cruise down the Danube this summer. The narrative starts at the headwaters of the river in Bavaria and works its way down the river describing the history and geography of each important location. It is just what I wanted to read for more background on this very important river. The writing is a little dry at times, and I wish there were captions to the photographs. More photos and an upgrade to color photos would be a plus also. This book is useful for anyone taking a similar journey.

Superb historical look at the Danube. Perfect in anticipation of a river cruise. Very fascinating and detailed accounts of the cities and towns along the way.

A must for a traveler on a Danube cruise. Gives reader a point-by-point overview of the river and its neighboring cities and towns.

We went on a Danube cruise with the book. I read it on the way in the airports and on the flights. It was loaned to several other travelers who wanted to know more than the guides told us. I would recommend it. Now I want to see where the Danube and Rhine begin.

This information was recommended by Viking, our river cruise line. It is quite informative, but could be better.I wish it had an index of the maps so that I could locate them easier.There are a lot of black and white pictures as well, but they aren't labeled.I would like to see an index of them and labels too.The book is a bit tedious to read with a lot of historical information that is hard for me to follow.But, in spite of these negatives, I have learned a lot about the river.. I look forward to seeing the places mentioned in the book.

I purchased this book to read before setting off on a trip down the Danube later this year. It is an excellent guide to the history and character of the places along the Danube, written in an easy to read style and with just the right amount of detail for my tastes. I would certainly recommend it to others requiring a readable guide to the Danube.I only give it 4 stars however because of the illustrations. There are plenty of photographs spread throughout the text. However, with hardly any exceptions they have no captions, so one is left having to guess what they depict (usually an informed guess can be made by reading the adjacent paragraphs). Also they are all in black and white and printed on non-glossy paper, so their quality is not great. The book does contain a number of clear and helpful maps however.I only wish there was a similar book about the Rhine and Main.

This book proved to be an excellent knowledgeable companion on a recent cruise we took along the Danube from Nurnberg to Budapest - and it would undoubtedly have continued to provide us with more useful and fascinating information if we had stayed on board for the stretch downstream from Budapest to the Black Sea.The book covered all the towns and cities we visited - Regensburg, Passau, Linz, Melk, Durnstein, Vienna, Bratislava and finally Budapest. The author, Andrew Beattie writes in a very interesting way about the history of the Danube and its associated towns and cities, extracting little gems of information in such a way that you want to keep reading. He covers the sweep of history from Roman times to the present, sometimes looking at previous writers who have travelled by boat or foot, quoting pertinent extracts from their books.I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book for anyone intending to go on a Danube cruise or who wants to follow the course of the river by any other means of transport. It isn't intended as a conventional travel guide such as the Rough Guides or the heavily illustrated Dorling Kindersley series. Rather,it is a well written full length piece of prose that, like the Danube itself, meanders through history to reveal how the river has been used and in turn has itself influenced the historical development of the various countries through which it flows.

A very good supplement to the classic Danube by Claudio Magris.

Great!

The first review said several maps included. Unfortunately, and annoyingly , there are no such maps of any description in the book and the lack of any headings to the few and poorly reproduced photographs make this a bad buy.