Iron Kingdom

The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947

By: Christopher Clark

Narrated by: 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

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.