Starred review from October 30, 2000
This new volume in Modern Library's Chronicles series of brief histories is a welcome addition to the historical literature by a longtime professor of history at the University of Erlangen-N rnberg who is in obvious command of his material. He begins with an overview of the situation in Germany when the architect of the unified German Reich, Otto von Bismarck, was beginning his political career, and ends with the collapse of the state at the end of the First World War. Between these points, St rmer's superlative analysis of Bismarck the man, of his motives and actions, is a masterpiece of clarity and brevity. The author then brilliantly surveys the history of the state that Bismarck created, leaving out nothing of importance. This is not an in-depth study, of course, but whether students or history buffs, readers who want a brief yet thorough introduction to an episode of German history that has proven pivotal to the history of the entire planet over the past century and a half will find exactly what they are looking for here. 3 maps not seen by PW.