Blood and Iron
The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871–1918
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
'Fluently written and convincingly argued, Blood and Iron is a brilliant account of an important period of history, and one that marks the arrival of a major new talent.'- Daily Telegraph
'The best biography of the Second Reich in years ... It will undoubtedly become the essential account of this vitally important part of European history.' - Andrew Roberts
'Outstanding, authoritative and gripping.' - Simon Sebag Montefiore
Before 1871, Germany was not yet a nation but simply an idea. Otto von Bismarck had a formidable task at hand. How would he bring thirty-nine individual states under the yoke of a single Kaiser, convincing proud Prussians, Bavarians and Rhinelanders to become Germans? Once united, could the young European nation wield enough power to rival the empires of Britain and France – all without destroying itself in the process?
In a unique study of five decades that changed the course of modern history, Katja Hoyer tells the story of the German Empire from its violent beginnings to its calamitous defeat in the First World War. This often-startling narrative is a dramatic tale of national self-discovery, social upheaval and realpolitik that ended, as it started, in blood and iron.
Customer Reviews
Well written
Concerns the period from the origins of the establishment of the German confederation from the mishmash of individual German states under the clever helmsmanship of the extraordinary Bismarck up to the end of the First World War. This is a complex period which sets the scene for the subsequent establishment of the second and third Reichs which altered the course of European history in the 20th Century. The book is easy to read and the characters are explained. It gives a more sympathetic view of the German position than I have read in other versions of the lead up to the First World War. Definitely recommend this version to help explain how the conflict started.