Prussia was a project for state power invented by monarchs and landlords, generals and civil servants from the vulnerable provinces of north central Europe-slowly mobilizing civic loyalties and reinvented for an age of German nationalism and encroaching democracy. It will be required reading for all students of the history of modern Germany.-William Hagen, author of Ordinary Prussians: Brandenburg Junkers and Villagers, 1500-1840 Its well-crafted narrative form is reader-friendly, while the interpretation it offers will impress seasoned specialists with its sophistication, knowledgeability, and freedom from stereotype and ideas of predetermined destiny.
Lucid, learned, and light-touched, this comprehensive history of the Prussian state and the society it molded eclipses its rivals, both Anglo-American and German.
Its clear and confident argumentation, illuminating concreteness of detail, and sheer richness of texture make it the ideal general history.-Geoff Eley, author of A Crooked Line: From Cultural History to the History of Society It commands four centuries of complicated history with extraordinary assurance.
Ingrao"Choice" ()Ĭhris Clark's new history of Prussia trumps all existing accounts. This beautifully written and brilliantly argued longer study will reward scholars, students, and educated laypeople who invest the time to read it. Clark's book seldom becomes dull, owing to the elegance of its style and the colorfulness of some of its powerful characters.-Istvan Deak"New Republic" () masterpiece in which charming anecdotes and serious intellectual analyses mix comfortably with political and military history and descriptions of cultural and social phenomena. Prussia and its army were full of contradictions, and Clark analyzes them astutely in his book, which is certainly the best recent history of Prussia. shows how complicated the history of Prussia really was, and how exciting were the contrasts in its history between religious tolerance and intolerance, enlightenment and obscurantism, centralized power and regional particularism, the rule of law and ruthless authoritarianism. Clark's immensely learned, judicious, and entertaining book provides a definitive general narrative of its subject for our times. Enthralling, shrewd, and sparkling narrative.
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