Iron Kingdom

The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947

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

A good book poorly read

Much good information, but the reader had a terrible time with German words and many English ones. "Cologne (Koln)" and "cadre" were particularly poorly pronounced.

Uneven Pace

I originally was looking for a history of the Franco-Prussian War and when I found this, I assumed I would get that and a lot more. I was wrong. While this book does cover the full history of Prussia, The time spent on certain stages of that history varies wildly. Nearly a half of the book covers Frederick the Elector and his grandson Frederick the Great. However World War One is only given five minutes! The Franco Prussian War, the original reason for my purchase happens almost as a passing afterthought. The pace slows down toward the end and there is a good amount of time spent on the Weimar Republic but then it speeds up again as soon as World War II breaks out and it ends. Ultimately, After 26 hours of listening, I still don’t know anything more about the Franco Prussian War.

Best history book

I know the size of this book can be intimidating, but it is worth the time commitment if you love European history. Clark gives lush detail while avoiding bias or getting bogged down in pointless minutiae.The narrator is also pleasant to listen to. Put simply Iron Kingdom is best history book I've read this year and I read a lot of them.

Booking my trip to Brandenburg now

An incredible weaving of events and people within an easy to digest narrative. Sometimes on audible this historical reference works can be a slog, not this one. Make sure you have the proper context on Europe at large, specifically the Napoleonic years, and this book will absolutely deliver.

Very Enlightening

Answered many questions on the development from many states to Germany in the 1940's. iblearned about being Bavarian not German.