Not sure if this is the right question for this subreddit.
I'm going to Prague and Vienna in a couple months and I know both cities ooze history and culture (especially from the Hapsburg period).
I'd love to read up on that period relating to those cities so that when I go there, I'd have a better understanding of all the sights I will check out.
If you ever-so-helpful historians could recommend me some general history books that would enlighten me of that period/location in history, it'd be amazing.
Danke/Děkuji
Hello.
I've just finished reading Twilight of the Habsburgs: The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph by Alan Palmer (I don't think links to Amazon or whatever are permitted but it should be easy to find). It's basically a biography of the last Habsburg Emperor, Franz Josef, whose rule stretched almost seventy years. It's a great read in and of itself, and gives a lot of insight into a historical figure that I feel is often marginalized and left out of many historical discussions about World War One.
But for your purposes, the book makes frequent references to certain places in the capitol such as theaters, or churches that I'm sure you'd be interested in seeing so you can tie those visits to the historical events that happened there.
Enjoy your trip!
A Nervous Splendour and Thunder at Twilight by Frederic Norton - the two are focused on Fin-de-Siecle Vienna, from the upheavals of the 1880s (The Crown Prince's suicide, the massive overhaul of the city center, and the incredibly dynamic cultural/artistic scene - Mahler, Klimt, Herzel, etc) and then a look at the years leading into WWI.
Another excellent book about the cultural and political upheaval of the late Hapsburg era is "Fin de Siecle Vienna: Politics & Culture" by Carl Shorske
A. J. P. Taylor's 'The Habsburg Monarchy 1809-1918' gives a good overview, although it's slightly old now - but still a bit of a classic!
The Fall of the Dynasties by Edmund Taylor is a humanized and intelligent analysis of the rulers and problems of the four major empires pre-WWI (Habsburg, Hohenzollern, Romanov, and Osmanlı).
Because Taylor saw its position as most emblematic of the era, Habsburg Austro-Hungary has predominant focus for most of the book. The book however may not be what you're looking for, being divided equally between describing the unique personalities of the ruling elite, and analyzing the horrendous poverty and life experiences of figures like Lenin, Gavrilo Princip and Hitler that motivated the rise of rebellious socialist and nationalist movements.
The Habsburgs by Wheatcroft is the definitive biographical work on the dynasty. While it reads a trifle bit like apologia patronized for the family, it analyzes their history in-depth, with entertaining asides on stories ranging from William Tell to affairs and romances.