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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
a very thorough history i just don’t think i was the target audience for it
This is an overview of the history of Prussia. I now have a better idea of what it was and what it wasn't. At times, this book is a slog talking about trade agreements and so on. It is very much a historian's book. There is less focus on the people and personalities than I like in my history. Still, it was worth the journey.
A pretty great modern and critical history of Prussia, quite critical of the historical narratives of the past but always willing to explain them. The Prussia I knew was the militaristic Prussia of the Great Elector, of Frederick William I, of the Great Frederick, and of Bismarck; this history talks about them extensively, but also about the Baroque Frederick I, the Prussian Aufklarung, the great reformers under Frederick William III, the romantic Frederick William IV and the revolutions of 1848.
My one criticism is that, after a lot of stage setting of non-political history, the political narrative becomes dominant roughly around Frederick II. I would have liked more exploration into /why/ the Great Frederick's Prussia was so much more powerful than the Great Elector's, and Bismarck's more powerful yet - a little more industrial history would have been welcome. It's also worth noting that the history post-1870 is not a history of the newly unified Germany, but instead of Prussia-in-Germany and will probably be somewhat difficult to follow for those not familiar with the pre-WWII history of the unified Germany.
My one criticism is that, after a lot of stage setting of non-political history, the political narrative becomes dominant roughly around Frederick II. I would have liked more exploration into /why/ the Great Frederick's Prussia was so much more powerful than the Great Elector's, and Bismarck's more powerful yet - a little more industrial history would have been welcome. It's also worth noting that the history post-1870 is not a history of the newly unified Germany, but instead of Prussia-in-Germany and will probably be somewhat difficult to follow for those not familiar with the pre-WWII history of the unified Germany.
Very interesting. For those that may not as have been as knowledgeable of Prussian history, this would be as good a place to start as any. I would say that that incudes me. I was not particularly aware of German history prior to WW2 until recent times and after reading a few books on subjects such as the reformation and the 30 Year War there is some very interesting reading to be had. This history of Prussia adds to that.
The rise of a nation called Prussia, from a backwater called Brandenburg to the mighty monarchy it finally became has been written very well by author Christopher Clark. He kept a steady pace throughout and it was fascinating to follow the growth of Prussia, be that by the various machinations of the monarchy, the politician’s, the bureaucracy and last but not least the military. Chapters on Fredrick the Great made enthralling reading. The authors explanation of the four wars for me defined what became known as Prussian Militarism. Examinations of a social welfare system that was the envy of progressives in such places a Great Britain made fascinating reading. All this was 5 star presentation.
So why only 4 stars? Because I found the authors defence of Prussian militarism at times a little ham fisted and also far too lengthy. One example comes to mind when he wrote that the western allies did not understand the anti-Nazi feeling of the Prussian traditionalists. The Soviets did and their propaganda that was supportive of the perpetrators of the July plot of 44 was indicative of that understanding. In the next sentence he writes that this support was really in truth “all eyewash”.
In the end though a highly recommended book.
The rise of a nation called Prussia, from a backwater called Brandenburg to the mighty monarchy it finally became has been written very well by author Christopher Clark. He kept a steady pace throughout and it was fascinating to follow the growth of Prussia, be that by the various machinations of the monarchy, the politician’s, the bureaucracy and last but not least the military. Chapters on Fredrick the Great made enthralling reading. The authors explanation of the four wars for me defined what became known as Prussian Militarism. Examinations of a social welfare system that was the envy of progressives in such places a Great Britain made fascinating reading. All this was 5 star presentation.
So why only 4 stars? Because I found the authors defence of Prussian militarism at times a little ham fisted and also far too lengthy. One example comes to mind when he wrote that the western allies did not understand the anti-Nazi feeling of the Prussian traditionalists. The Soviets did and their propaganda that was supportive of the perpetrators of the July plot of 44 was indicative of that understanding. In the next sentence he writes that this support was really in truth “all eyewash”.
In the end though a highly recommended book.
Great resource for the rise and fall of Prussia, starting with the Great Elector and ending with the German republic. The book spans a really huge time range, and it tries to mantain a certain level of detail. However, what this means is that the book is gigantic and still feels like it has to rush through decades of time with just one sentence. As reference, the Richard Evans trilogy of the third reich spans only about 20 years and its three huge books long. So yeah, this book tries a really big undertaking to cover in just one text. In either case, I do think it succeeds in its goals considering the difficulty of the project.
I did miss a more people's perspective of history with this one. It's mentioned for sure but this history is mostly framed from the perspective of government and war. This is fine, but I think it could have benefited from looking at life for poor, peasent life and how that affected politics. There has been such a rich history of people's politics in Prussia (fucking marx and engels were prussian and the republic was mostly socialist), so it clearly was important.
Anyways, I did really like it. Great resource for history nerds interested in the formation of Germany and the historical context that predated the nazi regime. This book added with Richard Evan's trilogy on the third reich is a great source for modern prussian and german history, and they complement each other quite well.
For now, though, I need a book thats less dense lol.
I did miss a more people's perspective of history with this one. It's mentioned for sure but this history is mostly framed from the perspective of government and war. This is fine, but I think it could have benefited from looking at life for poor, peasent life and how that affected politics. There has been such a rich history of people's politics in Prussia (fucking marx and engels were prussian and the republic was mostly socialist), so it clearly was important.
Anyways, I did really like it. Great resource for history nerds interested in the formation of Germany and the historical context that predated the nazi regime. This book added with Richard Evan's trilogy on the third reich is a great source for modern prussian and german history, and they complement each other quite well.
For now, though, I need a book thats less dense lol.
Intensely interesting book about the entire history of Prussia. I went into this nonfiction account knowing almost nothing about Prussia besides it somehow being a predecessor to Germany and it having something to do with Otto Von Bismark. I now could have a reasonable conversation about multiple different facets of the 400 or so year history of the kingdom of Prussia and its influence on 20th century Germany.
Although imposing (the large hardcover copy I had was somewhere close to 700 pages,) it was written rather well. The places that did get dry were more to do with the subject matter than the style, and every few pages had a very interesting revelation. Definitely suggested to anyone looking to learn some more about German history from the late 1500s to early 1900s.
Although imposing (the large hardcover copy I had was somewhere close to 700 pages,) it was written rather well. The places that did get dry were more to do with the subject matter than the style, and every few pages had a very interesting revelation. Definitely suggested to anyone looking to learn some more about German history from the late 1500s to early 1900s.
This history of Prussia has enough flaws that giving it four stars doesn't quite feel justified but giving it three stars is underrating it.
The primary problem is that -- like many bits of non-fiction written by specialists in their field -- the book is chock full of bits where the author assumes you already know what he's talking about. In some cases I did...but not all. So when he uses "Kaiser" with no gloss it didn't bother me but not all readers will feel the same.
Another problem with the book is that it tries to do too much. An entire socio-economic-military-political-ethnic-religious history of Prussia (and its neighbors) over the course of a couple of centuries? I found it hard at times to keep the thread of things as he jumps from a discussion of Pietist evangelism to Junker tax status to the Emperor banning certain kinds of dance. Also: this is definitely a history of Prussia. If you need to read about and identify with historical personages to keep your interest you probably won't like Iron Kingdom very much. Bismarck and a few couple of the early Kings get brief biographical sketches but these are mere summaries.
Despite the flaws there was a lot I liked here (hence my high rating), especially the focus on the socio-political rather than military exploits. (World War 1 and 2 are skipped over in mere paragraphs.) It did feel a bit uneven -- after I hit the 50% mark I sometimes struggled to make much reading progress -- but overall I enjoyed seeing the nitty-gritty of how a nation-state is born, lives, and dies.
The primary problem is that -- like many bits of non-fiction written by specialists in their field -- the book is chock full of bits where the author assumes you already know what he's talking about. In some cases I did...but not all. So when he uses "Kaiser" with no gloss it didn't bother me but not all readers will feel the same.
Another problem with the book is that it tries to do too much. An entire socio-economic-military-political-ethnic-religious history of Prussia (and its neighbors) over the course of a couple of centuries? I found it hard at times to keep the thread of things as he jumps from a discussion of Pietist evangelism to Junker tax status to the Emperor banning certain kinds of dance. Also: this is definitely a history of Prussia. If you need to read about and identify with historical personages to keep your interest you probably won't like Iron Kingdom very much. Bismarck and a few couple of the early Kings get brief biographical sketches but these are mere summaries.
Despite the flaws there was a lot I liked here (hence my high rating), especially the focus on the socio-political rather than military exploits. (World War 1 and 2 are skipped over in mere paragraphs.) It did feel a bit uneven -- after I hit the 50% mark I sometimes struggled to make much reading progress -- but overall I enjoyed seeing the nitty-gritty of how a nation-state is born, lives, and dies.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
A fantastic, well-rounded, and nuanced chronicling of the history of Prussia from its emergence out of the principality of Brandenburg to its fall after World War II. Clark depicts a Prussia that is both integral to the eventual unification of Germany, and yet distinct from German national identity.