The Habsburgs: Embodying Empire, by Andrew Wheatcroft (Penguin. £8.99 in UK)

The Habsburgs were originally a knightly family from Central Europe, dukes of Austria (a small area then), but they blossomed out to be (elective) German Emperors and in their other branch, kings of Spain and the Indies. Andrew Wheatcroft thinks that they have had a bad press historically; presumably he is thinking of the Spanish Habsburgs some of whom (notably Philip II) were blackened unduly through the Leyenda negra. They were also frequently marked by tragedy, culminating in the suicide of Archduke Rudolf at Mayerling in 1889, but in general they were a tough, sober, obstinate lot with a talent for survival.