The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth

The Radetzky March charts the history of the Trotta family through three generations spanning the rise and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Through the Battle of Solferino, to the entombment of the last Hapsburg emperor, Roth's intelligent compassionate narrative illuminates the crumbling of a way of life. Harold Bloom calls The Radetzky March "one of the most readable, poigant, and superb novels in 20th century German." Translations by Joachim Neugroschel and Michael Hofmann both have their admirers.