NONFICTION - Dec. 22, 1991

METTERNICH: The First European by Desmond Stewart (Viking: $24.95; 30 pp.). Political science, Clemens von Metternich was quoted as saying in the 1830s, “can be reduced to terms as exact as those of chemistry.” That’s no doubt an exaggeration--Metternich loved to talk, and wasn’t averse to inflating his diplomatic skill--but the statement explains to some degree how he managed to remain the leading minister of the Hapsburg empire for more than three decades while the rest of Europe convulsed in turmoil. Metternich’s political consciousness was formed by the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon, with the result that he dedicated his life to the preservation of the status quo ante--and which he achieved to an astonishing degree, considering the nation’s military weakness and geographic location. British historian Desmond Stewart hopes to resuscitate Metternich’s reputation in this book--eclipsed today because his policies were defensive rather than visionary--and largely succeeds by showing that the chancellor’s aims transcended national interest. If not exactly “the first European,” Desmond’s Metternich is certainly more than a mechanistic, knee-jerk reactionary.