Europe calls itself the cradle of democracy and freedom. And yet it is also the continent that still preserves monarchies as if they were part of the natural landscape, unquestioned relics of a lineage believed to be immutable. This contradiction reveals a profound orphanhood: Europe...

From the orderly center of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a crack opened in the soul of Europe. From it sprang the most disturbing forms of beauty, thought, and modern music. Also, from its edges, the century gave birth to its monster. ...