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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
This is a dense read with a whole lot of history. A good read for anyone interested in a general history of Prussia and German. This book is definitely something that will spark your interest in more detailed areas of Prussian history.
I would not have read this book if not for a reading challenge. I'm so glad I picked this up as I really enjoyed it. This was the first history book I've read. I'll have to start reading more in the future.
Absolutely fascinating! I admit, I had my problems at first because the almost 800 pages CAN be boring at some points. But I felt that I couldn´t put in down in the end because it was so well reasearched, spanning so many themes about Prussia, including religion, economy, society, and of course, historical warfare and politics. I took it up almost every other day to read on and finished it. I feel it has contributed remarkably to my understanding of local and regional history and has opened up new panoramas, historically speaking, to me.
Great overview of Prussia, solid focus on rulers and societal issues/changes over time that brought about modern Germany. I was happy about the brief overviews of both world wars, covered extensively elsewhere, but more focus on older, wars and events. A great read, would suggest to any general history enthusiast.
slow-paced
An excellent book on a subject often only tangentially examined. There has been a abundance of ink spilled on German military history, but I have always wanted a closer look at Prussia. In the aftermath of the Thirty Years War, Prussia rose to power on the back of a strong administrative state and masterful bureaucracy. My one complaint about this book was in it's balance. A larger portion of the book went to the early Prussian period up through the defeat of Napoleon (which was, of course, interesting), but I would have liked to see more on the Franco-Prussian War and Bismarck's tenure especially.
Overall the book gives me a vibe of Tony Judy’s Postwar, impressive breadth with attention to details and superb narratives. Clark didn’t give much space to 1871 leading up to WWI, which I guess left to Clark’s several WWI books. I specially like it’s ending “In the end, there was only Brandenburg”, back to the thesis of the beginning that it all started with this village Berlin
informative
medium-paced