Author: Jonathan Steinberg
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199782660
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 592
Book Description
This riveting, New York Times bestselling biography illuminates the life of Otto von Bismarck, the statesman who unified Germany but who also embodied everything brutal and ruthless about Prussian culture. Jonathan Steinberg draws heavily on contemporary writings, allowing Bismarck's friends and foes to tell the story. What rises from these pages is a complex giant of a man: a hypochondriac with the constitution of an ox, a brutal tyrant who could easily shed tears, a convert to an extreme form of evangelical Protestantism who secularized schools and introduced civil divorce. Bismarck may have been in sheer ability the most intelligent man to direct a great state in modern times. His brilliance and insight dazzled his contemporaries. But all agreed there was also something demonic, diabolical, overwhelming, beyond human attributes, in Bismarck's personality. He was a kind of malign genius who, behind the various postures, concealed an ice-cold contempt for his fellow human beings and a drive to control and rule them. As one contemporary noted: "the Bismarck regime was a constant orgy of scorn and abuse of mankind, collectively and individually." In this comprehensive and expansive biography--a brilliant study in power--Jonathan Steinberg brings Bismarck to life, revealing the stark contrast between the "Iron Chancellor's" unmatched political skills and his profoundly flawed human character.
Bismarck
Author: Jonathan Steinberg
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199782660
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 592
Book Description
This riveting, New York Times bestselling biography illuminates the life of Otto von Bismarck, the statesman who unified Germany but who also embodied everything brutal and ruthless about Prussian culture. Jonathan Steinberg draws heavily on contemporary writings, allowing Bismarck's friends and foes to tell the story. What rises from these pages is a complex giant of a man: a hypochondriac with the constitution of an ox, a brutal tyrant who could easily shed tears, a convert to an extreme form of evangelical Protestantism who secularized schools and introduced civil divorce. Bismarck may have been in sheer ability the most intelligent man to direct a great state in modern times. His brilliance and insight dazzled his contemporaries. But all agreed there was also something demonic, diabolical, overwhelming, beyond human attributes, in Bismarck's personality. He was a kind of malign genius who, behind the various postures, concealed an ice-cold contempt for his fellow human beings and a drive to control and rule them. As one contemporary noted: "the Bismarck regime was a constant orgy of scorn and abuse of mankind, collectively and individually." In this comprehensive and expansive biography--a brilliant study in power--Jonathan Steinberg brings Bismarck to life, revealing the stark contrast between the "Iron Chancellor's" unmatched political skills and his profoundly flawed human character.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199782660
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 592
Book Description
This riveting, New York Times bestselling biography illuminates the life of Otto von Bismarck, the statesman who unified Germany but who also embodied everything brutal and ruthless about Prussian culture. Jonathan Steinberg draws heavily on contemporary writings, allowing Bismarck's friends and foes to tell the story. What rises from these pages is a complex giant of a man: a hypochondriac with the constitution of an ox, a brutal tyrant who could easily shed tears, a convert to an extreme form of evangelical Protestantism who secularized schools and introduced civil divorce. Bismarck may have been in sheer ability the most intelligent man to direct a great state in modern times. His brilliance and insight dazzled his contemporaries. But all agreed there was also something demonic, diabolical, overwhelming, beyond human attributes, in Bismarck's personality. He was a kind of malign genius who, behind the various postures, concealed an ice-cold contempt for his fellow human beings and a drive to control and rule them. As one contemporary noted: "the Bismarck regime was a constant orgy of scorn and abuse of mankind, collectively and individually." In this comprehensive and expansive biography--a brilliant study in power--Jonathan Steinberg brings Bismarck to life, revealing the stark contrast between the "Iron Chancellor's" unmatched political skills and his profoundly flawed human character.
Germany's Iron Chancellor
Author: Bruno Garlepp
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Heads of state
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
"Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (1 April 1815? 30 July 1898), simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman who dominated European affairs from the 1860s to his dismissal in 1890 by Emperor Wilhelm II. In 1871, after a series of short victorious wars, he unified most of the German states (whilst excluding some, most notably Austria) into a powerful German Empire under Prussian leadership. This created a balance of power that preserved peace in Europe from 1871 until 1914"--Wikipedia.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Heads of state
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
"Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (1 April 1815? 30 July 1898), simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman who dominated European affairs from the 1860s to his dismissal in 1890 by Emperor Wilhelm II. In 1871, after a series of short victorious wars, he unified most of the German states (whilst excluding some, most notably Austria) into a powerful German Empire under Prussian leadership. This created a balance of power that preserved peace in Europe from 1871 until 1914"--Wikipedia.
Otto Von Bismarck
Author: Kimberley Heuston
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780531228241
Category : Germany
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Examines the life and career of Otto von Bismark.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780531228241
Category : Germany
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Examines the life and career of Otto von Bismark.
Bismarck
Author: Volker Ullrich
Publisher: Haus Publishing
ISBN: 1910376248
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 156
Book Description
Otto von Bismarck (1815–98) has gone down in history as the Iron Chancellor, a reactionary and militarist whose 1871 unification of Germany set Europe down the path of disaster to World War I. But as Volker Ullrich shows in this new edition of his accessible biography, the real Bismarck was far more complicated than the stereotype. A leading historian of nineteenth- and twentieth-century history, Ullrich demonstrates that the “Founder of the Reich” was in fact an opponent of liberal German nationalism. After the wars of 1866 and 1870, Bismarck spent the rest of his career working to preserve peace in Europe and protect the empire he had created. Despite his reputation as an enemy of socialism, he introduced comprehensive health and unemployment insurance for German workers. Far from being a “man of iron and blood,” Bismarck was in fact a complex statesman who was concerned with maintaining stability and harmony far beyond Germany’s newly unified borders. Comprehensive and balanced, Bismarck shows us the post-reunification value of looking anew at this monumental figure’s role in European history.
Publisher: Haus Publishing
ISBN: 1910376248
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 156
Book Description
Otto von Bismarck (1815–98) has gone down in history as the Iron Chancellor, a reactionary and militarist whose 1871 unification of Germany set Europe down the path of disaster to World War I. But as Volker Ullrich shows in this new edition of his accessible biography, the real Bismarck was far more complicated than the stereotype. A leading historian of nineteenth- and twentieth-century history, Ullrich demonstrates that the “Founder of the Reich” was in fact an opponent of liberal German nationalism. After the wars of 1866 and 1870, Bismarck spent the rest of his career working to preserve peace in Europe and protect the empire he had created. Despite his reputation as an enemy of socialism, he introduced comprehensive health and unemployment insurance for German workers. Far from being a “man of iron and blood,” Bismarck was in fact a complex statesman who was concerned with maintaining stability and harmony far beyond Germany’s newly unified borders. Comprehensive and balanced, Bismarck shows us the post-reunification value of looking anew at this monumental figure’s role in European history.
Blood and Iron
Author: Katja Hoyer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643138383
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 229
Book Description
In this vivid fifty-year history of Germany from 1871-1918—which inspired events that forever changed the European continent—here is the story of the Second Reich from its violent beginnings and rise to power to its calamitous defeat in the First World War. Before 1871, Germany was not yet nation but simply an idea. Its founder, Otto von Bismarck, had a formidable task at hand. How would he bring thirty-nine individual states under the yoke of a single Kaiser? How would he convince 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 this 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.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643138383
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 229
Book Description
In this vivid fifty-year history of Germany from 1871-1918—which inspired events that forever changed the European continent—here is the story of the Second Reich from its violent beginnings and rise to power to its calamitous defeat in the First World War. Before 1871, Germany was not yet nation but simply an idea. Its founder, Otto von Bismarck, had a formidable task at hand. How would he bring thirty-nine individual states under the yoke of a single Kaiser? How would he convince 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 this 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.
Bismarck, the Man and the Statesman
Author: Otto Bismarck (Fürst von)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Europe
Languages : en
Pages : 402
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Europe
Languages : en
Pages : 402
Book Description
BISMARCK AND THE GERMAN EMPIRE
Author: ERICH EYCK
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 334
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 334
Book Description
Gambling on War
Author: Roger L. Ransom
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781108454353
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
The First World War left a legacy of chaos that is still with us a century later. Why did European leaders resort to war and why did they not end it sooner? Roger L. Ransom sheds new light on this enduring puzzle by employing insights from prospect theory and notions of risk and uncertainty. He reveals how the interplay of confidence, fear, and a propensity to gamble encouraged aggressive behavior by leaders who pursued risky military strategies in hopes of winning the war. The result was a series of military disasters and a war of attrition which gradually exhausted the belligerents without producing any hope of ending the war. Ultimately, he shows that the outcome of the war rested as much on the ability of the Allied powers to muster their superior economic resources to continue the fight as it did on success on the battlefield.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781108454353
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
The First World War left a legacy of chaos that is still with us a century later. Why did European leaders resort to war and why did they not end it sooner? Roger L. Ransom sheds new light on this enduring puzzle by employing insights from prospect theory and notions of risk and uncertainty. He reveals how the interplay of confidence, fear, and a propensity to gamble encouraged aggressive behavior by leaders who pursued risky military strategies in hopes of winning the war. The result was a series of military disasters and a war of attrition which gradually exhausted the belligerents without producing any hope of ending the war. Ultimately, he shows that the outcome of the war rested as much on the ability of the Allied powers to muster their superior economic resources to continue the fight as it did on success on the battlefield.
The Summer Capitals of Europe, 1814-1919
Author: Marina Soroka
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351813471
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 608
Book Description
"This is an original work, meticulously researched, rich in detail, and written in a clear and – here and there – refreshingly pungent style. (...) I regard it as a first-rate contribution to the diplomatic methods of the 100 years before the First World War." - G.R. Berridge, Emeritus Professor of International Politics, University of Leicester "Marina Soroka has made exceptional use of Russian manuscript sources from among imperial archives and family papers to enrich a well-grounded perspective of the European watering place as a forum for brokering national destinies and forging political careers." - Jonathan Keates, Times Literary Supplement "At times captivating like a novel, The Summer Capitals of Europe narrates the role of spas in the geopolitical set-up of nineteenth-century Europe." - Corriere della Sera "an important and overdue contribution" - Ben Anderson, Keele University, English Historical Review This book is about the European health spas of the nineteenth century: what they were, how they operated, what life was like there and how their functions evolved to the point where their original medicinal purpose was relegated to a secondary place by the unintended uses of spas as stages of social and political interactions. These popular resorts were nicknamed ‘the summer capitals of Europe’ because of the tendency of nations’ governing classes to gather there. Every summer between 1814 and 1914 (and in a few cases during World War I) continental watering places became a microcosm of cosmopolitan aristocratic Europe, incorporating its conventions, tastes, concerns and interests. As the nineteenth century advanced, fashionable watering stations increasingly became associated with social bonding, matchmaking, pleasure, career building, conspicuous consumption and diplomatic activity that took place during the high season.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351813471
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 608
Book Description
"This is an original work, meticulously researched, rich in detail, and written in a clear and – here and there – refreshingly pungent style. (...) I regard it as a first-rate contribution to the diplomatic methods of the 100 years before the First World War." - G.R. Berridge, Emeritus Professor of International Politics, University of Leicester "Marina Soroka has made exceptional use of Russian manuscript sources from among imperial archives and family papers to enrich a well-grounded perspective of the European watering place as a forum for brokering national destinies and forging political careers." - Jonathan Keates, Times Literary Supplement "At times captivating like a novel, The Summer Capitals of Europe narrates the role of spas in the geopolitical set-up of nineteenth-century Europe." - Corriere della Sera "an important and overdue contribution" - Ben Anderson, Keele University, English Historical Review This book is about the European health spas of the nineteenth century: what they were, how they operated, what life was like there and how their functions evolved to the point where their original medicinal purpose was relegated to a secondary place by the unintended uses of spas as stages of social and political interactions. These popular resorts were nicknamed ‘the summer capitals of Europe’ because of the tendency of nations’ governing classes to gather there. Every summer between 1814 and 1914 (and in a few cases during World War I) continental watering places became a microcosm of cosmopolitan aristocratic Europe, incorporating its conventions, tastes, concerns and interests. As the nineteenth century advanced, fashionable watering stations increasingly became associated with social bonding, matchmaking, pleasure, career building, conspicuous consumption and diplomatic activity that took place during the high season.
Otto Von Bismarck
Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781982072766
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 92
Book Description
*Includes pictures *Includes Bismarck's quotes about his life and career *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading In 1832, 17 year old Otto von Bismarck had just entered university and was already rejecting the republican indoctrination of his grade school years. Unlike so many of his day who had championed representative government, Bismarck longed for the glory of a nation he believed would only be found under a single, strong leader. Though his early university days showed him he would be isolated by this thinking, he strongly believed not only in the ideal of a national German state, but in its possibility. In his memoirs, Bismarck recalls that at this young age, he "retained [his] own private National sentiments, and [his] belief that in the near future events would lead to German unity; in fact, [he] made a bet with [his] American friend Coffin that this aim would be attained in twenty years." Though it would take longer than he had predicted, Germany would eventually be united and he would be the person responsible for accomplishing it. Bismarck would go on to accomplish his goal and strengthen Germany into a modern political state by embracing specific political principles, despite their lack of popularity. Bismarck biographer Jonathan Steinberg refers to these principles as the "Prussian legacy," including "the army inherited from the 'genius King' Frederick the Great; the fusion of the Junker class with the army and the bureaucracy, the pervasive idea of 'Deinst' or service; the rigid distinction between the nobility and the bourgeoisie; [and] a military conception of honor." As "the most interesting character of the nineteenth century," Bismarck would spend his life in service of the Hohenzollern Kings, elevating William I from a Prussian King near abdication King to the first German emperor. He would alienate many along the way, but under William, he would retain what he wanted most: the power to shape Germany's future. Otto von Bismarck: The Life and Legacy of the German Empire's First Chancellor looks at the life and work of Germany's most famous politician. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Otto von Bismarck like never before.
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781982072766
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 92
Book Description
*Includes pictures *Includes Bismarck's quotes about his life and career *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading In 1832, 17 year old Otto von Bismarck had just entered university and was already rejecting the republican indoctrination of his grade school years. Unlike so many of his day who had championed representative government, Bismarck longed for the glory of a nation he believed would only be found under a single, strong leader. Though his early university days showed him he would be isolated by this thinking, he strongly believed not only in the ideal of a national German state, but in its possibility. In his memoirs, Bismarck recalls that at this young age, he "retained [his] own private National sentiments, and [his] belief that in the near future events would lead to German unity; in fact, [he] made a bet with [his] American friend Coffin that this aim would be attained in twenty years." Though it would take longer than he had predicted, Germany would eventually be united and he would be the person responsible for accomplishing it. Bismarck would go on to accomplish his goal and strengthen Germany into a modern political state by embracing specific political principles, despite their lack of popularity. Bismarck biographer Jonathan Steinberg refers to these principles as the "Prussian legacy," including "the army inherited from the 'genius King' Frederick the Great; the fusion of the Junker class with the army and the bureaucracy, the pervasive idea of 'Deinst' or service; the rigid distinction between the nobility and the bourgeoisie; [and] a military conception of honor." As "the most interesting character of the nineteenth century," Bismarck would spend his life in service of the Hohenzollern Kings, elevating William I from a Prussian King near abdication King to the first German emperor. He would alienate many along the way, but under William, he would retain what he wanted most: the power to shape Germany's future. Otto von Bismarck: The Life and Legacy of the German Empire's First Chancellor looks at the life and work of Germany's most famous politician. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Otto von Bismarck like never before.