Vienna: A Cultural History by Nicholas Parsons

by Nicholas Parsons

A city guide to Vienna. It presents detailed walks around the city centre; coverage of the museums; listings of hotels, restaurants and cafes; details of all the arts festivals - music, cinema and dance; and maps and plans. This second edition is expanded and updated.

Genres: History, Cities

Paperback

First published January 31, 1997

About the author

English radio and television presenter and actor; best known today for his long-standing position as host of the comedy radio game show Just a Minute since 1967.

Reviews

[John Scothern · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book to introduce me to Vienna, it's history and peoples.
The sort of book I like, where I can dip in and out on a daily basis without loosing time re-reading previous pages.
I particularly like the author's style - conveying detailed, well researched insight without becoming too academic or self-important.
Plenty of ideas collected for our visit later this year! :)

[Jurgen Maerschand · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author knows his subject, for sure, but als0 wants to show the same which is never a good premise for smooth reading - as the book rather jumps erratically from one fact to another. Probably better as a valuable source to look up specific topics or places in than to read in one flow.

[Eric W · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t finish. I found the author’s writing style to be pretentious and off-putting. I was looking for a quick introduction to the history of Vienna for an upcoming trip, but I’ll have to look elsewhere.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why can't someone pay me to just say things about cities after watching some operas and reading some books?

[Katherine Baber · Rating 2 out of 5]

More a collection of feulleiton than a book. Some essays are useful and some recapitulate material more thoroughly addressed elsewhere. The lists of associated sights in Vienna at the end of each chapter in part 3 (the chronological history of the city) are a bonus.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book offering a very personal and extremely erudite overview of Vienna; its architecture, its music, its theatre, its politics, and its history.