In 1848, an 18-year-old boy assumed the throne of Austria, one of the most powerful countries in Europe. He would be its last significant emperor, the only monarch to serve two countries, and the last cogent head of the prestigious Habsburg dynasty. Emperor Franz Joseph's reign was marked by revolutions, often fueled by rising liberalism and nationalism, and wars orchestrated by conquering architects such as Napoleon, Metternich, and Bismarck. This book gives attention to these political and cultural events, but it is essentially a biography of Emperor Franz Joseph and his enigmatic wife, Empress Elisabeth. Franz Joseph, with an overwhelming sense of dynastic responsibility, played all the roles assigned to him as Emperor. Elisabeth played none, as a wife, mother or Empress. Many factors played a part in her ""abdication"" and in the decisions Franz Joseph made during his reign - none more enigmatic than the self-proclaimed Peace Emperor's final act of mobilising of Austria-Hungary's armies, detonating World War I at the cost of 16 million lives.

The amazing people profiled in this book channeled their passions into various venues: Artists who created astonishing works ranging from Cezanne's still lifes of apples to Michelangelo's miraculously carved statues of stone rendered to perfection in polished marble. Authors who wrote books that encouraged thought and change from Bronte's lyrical prose to Harriet Beecher Stowe's groundbreaking work on slavery. Composers whose lives were in stark contrast with their music often rendered in the bucolic sounds of Swan Lake or the Moonlight Sonata. Finance and Industry represents a composite of profiles of the richest people in the world from the founder F.W. Woolworth to the king of e-commerceJeff Bezos. Scientists who have discovered DNA the "secret of life" to Einstein working on a one-inch long equation representing "the theory of everything." There are more compelling stories found in other genres as well but all have one thing in common: they have all impacted our lives - both individually and globally.

The women whose profiles contained herein led armies, created works of art, discovered new lands, advanced, technology, became CEOs, were influential heads of state, challenged society for equal rights, became self-made billionaires, wrote books that encouraged thought and change and despite their disparate pursuits, had one thin in common: they helped to shape our lives and the history of the world.