Iron Kingdom

The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947

De: Christopher Clark

Narrado por: Shaun Grindell

In the aftermath of World War II, Prussia - a centuries-old state pivotal to Europe's development - ceased to exist. In their eagerness to erase all traces of the Third Reich from the earth, the Allies believed that Prussia, the very embodiment of German militarism, had to be abolished. But as Christopher Clark reveals in this pioneering history, Prussia's legacy is far more complex.

What we find is a kingdom that existed nearly half a millennium ago as a patchwork of territorial fragments, with neither significant resources nor a coherent culture. With its capital in Berlin, Prussia grew from being a small, poor, disregarded medieval state into one of the most vigorous and powerful nations in Europe. Iron Kingdom traces Prussia's involvement in the continent's foundational religious and political conflagrations: from the devastations of the Thirty Years' War through centuries of political machinations to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, from the enlightenment of Frederick the Great to the destructive conquests of Napoleon, and from the "iron and blood" policies of Bismarck to the creation of the German Empire in 1871 and all that implied for the tumultuous 20th century.

©2006 Christopher Clark (P)2017 Tantor

Tough Going but Worth It

Written in long, convoluted prose, spiced with difficult German names and places, a prior knowledge of European history and geography would make the going much easier. Having neither to a great degree I had to do independent reading to fully understand many of the key events and personalities . However, the book's focus is tailored to its more limited subject, Prussia, and takes a very deep dive into just that. Slow going but rich in insight and into the politics, culture, religion and psychology of the area and by extension, into German history. Fills a big gap in my understanding of this vital area of the world.

Best history book I've ever read

I picked up this book because I had occasionally heard of Prussia, and never knew what it was. I knew that my understanding of Central European history was severely lacking, but didn't expect this book to lay it out so thoroughly and engagingly. The author managed to be not only informative, but engaging in his coverage of a region and era that tends to be covered very poorly in American history curricula.

I have to say that this book is _very_ well-structured, and that the author managed to reall bring these historical actors to life.

The narrator was pretty good, too.

Somebody got their PhD published...

I'm 7+ hours into this, and frankly it's painful. It's not really in chronological order, but rather moves through a series if concepts and facets, constantly jumping back and forth. We left the narrative after the famous death of Katte, and I honestly don't know if we're going to get back to it. I came here for the Great Elector, Fredrick the Great, Leuthen, Zorndorf, an explanation of how Prussia was gutted like a fish by Napoleon, and of course "blood and iron"....instead I'm hearing about the gender gynamics of the Junckers in the last 1600s. Seriously, it's a PhD thesis.

I Recommend This Great Book... (now that technical problem is fixed)

This book gives lots of context for the German Empire which helps explain the course of the Great War.

Long and lacked flow

The narrator obviously speaks German well. However, English has established pronunciation of foreign language localities. Throughout the book, he would pronounce Brandenburg as BrandenBORG.
The story is long and full of detail. If you want a casual history on the subject, this is not the book to get. If you like a comprehensive read, the author delivers.

Disappointed

I read Christopher Clark‘s book on how the first world war was allowed to happen. This was one of the most influential military political history books that I’ve read.

some interesting points, but it reminded me of a travel log. It Is choppy and tangential. If anything, it helps me understand some of the troublesome characteristics of my own dysfunctional Prussian family

Such a key topic in the history of Europe

The history of Germany is not well known enough. In dumbed down summaries of 20th century history, Germany get's to play the bogey man. Move into the details and you see a dynamic rational people struggling forward. Unfortunately, the Prussian monarchy was utterly unprepared to deal the with the nature of the modern world.

Would have been better served with German speaking narrator

Solid historic account. So many German terms in this book that a narrator with some ability to accurately speak these terms would have helped significantly.

Thorough and conscientious, but...

Clark and Grindell make strong arguments to support their case that Prussia was a contrived polity and empire throughout it's existence. The arguments are often hard to follow, though. They rely on historical facts that often go unexplained and the course of the arguments wander willy-nilly across time. Still, I learned a lot that I didn't know and I came away with a deeper understanding of Prussia and it's place in time and space.

Enjoyable but challenging read.

All around a great book that I enjoyed. I had a somewhat familiar understanding of 19th century Prussian history. With that said, 50% of the book was 16th 17th, 18th century history which was hard for me since I didn’t have a great background or understanding the history. The 19th century section was fantastic and illuminating to read. I really enjoy Clark’s style and writing. All around a great book but not one to start with if you have no general under of European history in 18-19th century.