800 + pages of pure prussian history. I read this book very easily. An easy read to me, therefore. I also enjoy knowing more about german history and Brandenburg-Prussia was the State which made Germany a national entity possible. This book is great to look at from time to time when one needs or wants to know specifics.
Christopher Clark has a deep knowledge on Germany and proves it here. This is the detailed and captivating story of a small, backwater territory which through war, alliances, statesmanship and bureaucracy became great and played ultimately a pivotal role in the history of Europe.

I'm no reader of history to be honest. The only times I read about history was for purposes of passing an exam. But the reason I decided to read this was because of Hetalia. It's a japanese anime which my sister is obsessed with. She forced me to watch, I ended up watching some episodes and got curious. Her favourite character is Prussia, so while watching the anime, there's this historical reference and of course as a viewer you can't help but try to learn more about the reference. So while searching about a reference, I found this book and swore that I'll read it and hear I am now, actually finishing the book. I should be proud of myself to be honest.I gave 5 stars to this book because it's a very comprehensive book about the rise and fall of Prussia. It didn't only focus on the political side but as well as the social, ideological and even the religion side. I never really thought religion was this deeply embedded in German History and in times even one of their motivations for their policies and political decisions. This book made me learn a lot of things about Prussia and Germany as a whole.

The political side, talks about balance of power and the like really appealed to the political scientist in me. Moreover, the author made this book interesting by putting in background information about the personalities and behaviours of their rulers. I particularly loved the background about Frederick the Great.

For me, this was like reading a novel. I just simply loved it. The introduction written by the author was particularly gripping, if it wasn't for it, I would've dropped this. This book also gave help me reflect on our own history. It made me think about the implications of the European war to other parts of the world and the fact that one way or another it has affected our country. I thought that keeping the European powers from going to war with each other would actually benefit the world because the catastrophes that happened were basically because of wars originating from Europe. Moreover, the fact that the Habsburgs in one point in time actually ruled the world is kinda incredible. It's awesome when you realise that you're actually part of a chain even if you're just this little country on the other side of the world.

The book actually gave me a huge background on what actually happened with the world and I was able to connect it with our own history. And I was like: "So that's why..". This book is brilliant. I'm glad I read it.

-Punto de partida para el interesado en Prusia; nada más pero nada menos.-

Género. Ensayo.

Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro El reino de hierro (publicación original: Iron Kingdom, 2006) se ofrece un acercamiento a Prusia, desde que era un pequeño territorio en Brandenburgo hasta que es eliminada por decreto tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial, pasando por su crecimiento, posicionamiento como una potencia europea y “agente aglutinante” (incluso algo más...) del Imperio Alemán.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

Finnaly! A history book that does not see all of Prussian history throught the lens of Nazi Germany. Clark (the author) gives the most objective and thorough look at one of the most influential, and ignored, states in history. The book is not written as an apology or excuse of the World Wars, which little time is spent, but gives a complete contextual look at Prussian history covering the culture, politics, and forgein policy of this controversial state. Anyone interested in German history should read this book.

At times the author gets you a little too deep into the ultra specific who and when of events without providing a basic layout of the general themes / motifs that are occurring around you. Wish he would have spent more time describing Bismarck’s rise to power in addition to how the Napoleonic era may have be a precursor to WWI in terms of developing militaristic attitudes in ‘Germany’.

Prussia bearing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under Prussia - they burn a building down
Hack a family in two
Lay people on sheets
It's the terror of knowing
What this nation is about
Watching some good junkers
Screaming let me in
Pray today - you rise higher
Prussia is people - people in armies
She been around
Kicked my brains round the floor
These are the days it rains but it never pours
People in armies
People on sheets
It's the terror of knowing
What this country is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming leave us kraut!
Pray tomorrow - Heilige Reich!

Turned away from liberalism like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with new armies and then the
Empire was born.
Why - Ooooh
Insanity laughs under Prussia we're cracking,
Can't we give ourselves one more war?
Why can't we give hate that one more war?
Why can't we give war give war give war give war
give war give war give war give war give war?
'Cause war's such an old fashioned word
And war dares you to care for
Killing people on the edge of the night
And war dares you to change our way of
Killing others than ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is unser krieg

Under Prussia
Under Prussia
Prussia

Category: Non-fiction, history, European history
Page Count: 688
Year of Publication: 2006 (Paperback Edition)
Rating: 5/5
10-Word Summary: The rise and downfall of the Prussian state from 1600-1947.

About Iron Kingdom
Christopher Clark’s Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947 is a historical work of the highest tier. Clark writes an excellent summary of the entire history of Prussia from its humble beginnings as Brandenburg—an Electorate within the Holy Roman Empire—to its abolition by the Allies after Germany’s defeat in Second World War. The story of Prussia is a remarkable one, but what makes Iron Kingdom wonderful to read is Christopher Clark’s writing style, in which he details the unfolding of Prussian history without inserting any of his own views or prejudices.

One thing to note is that those who are looking for a detailed account of Germany will be disappointed, as Clark’s focus throughout the book is on the Prussian state, and not necessarily the German state; this means that other German states, such as Hanover or Bavaria, are not discussed unless they are in relation to Prussia. This doesn’t diminish Clark’s work, as the title makes it clear that Clark’s focus throughout the entire book is on Prussia. But if the reader is looking for a detailed work on the German state, then it may be best to look elsewhere, as only the final two chapters (out of seventeen) discuss the German state post-1871 unification.

One final disclaimer is that any reader who would like a detailed account of Germany during the First and Second World Wars will also be disappointed, as Clark’s focus in the last two chapters are on Prussian culture and politics post-1871 unification. Again, this does not diminish Clark’s work, but it is worth pointing out nevertheless.

Religion, the Military, and the Fredericks
At the risk of oversimplifying Clark’s work, I will state that there are three great themes that cover his book from start to finish: religion, the military, and the Fredericks.

To start, religion is a major theme of the first half of the book, and this makes sense given the time period in Europe. Though Clark doesn’t discuss the Protestant Reformation itself, he does an excellent job explaining the significance of the Reformation for the early Prussian state. The Holy Roman Empire was a Catholic state centered around the Catholic Habsburg Dynasty. The Protestant Reformation broke the religious unity of the empire, and though Habsburg Emperor Charles V (1519-1556) fought anti-Lutheran wars to keep a religiously united empire, he settled for the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 which “acknowledged the existence of Lutheran territories within the Empire and conceded the right of Lutheran sovereigns to impose confessional conformity upon their own subjects.” (Page 7)

It was Brandenburg Elector Joachim II (1535-1571) who would convert to the new Lutheran faith. Slowly but surely, Brandenburg would become a Lutheran state. But once Calvinism took hold of Western and Southern Germany, it would be Elector John Sigismund (1608-1619) who would convert to Calvinism, making Brandenburg-Prussia a bi-confessional state. This placed the Electorate in cultural opposition to the Catholic German south, and this opposition would continue even until the days of Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), the famous statesman who would unify Prussia with thirty-nine other German states into the unified Germany of 1871. It was Bismarck who launched a Kulturkampf, a “struggle of cultures,” against the Catholics because of his belief that political Catholicism was the enemy of Prussia. Hence, the tension between Lutherans and Calvinists, Protestants and Catholics, plays a major role in understanding not just the history of Prussia but the greater history of Germany.

The military is another major theme. The Thirty Years’ War left the German lands devastated, and it was Frederick William the Great Elector (1640-1688) who oversaw the recovery and expansion of Brandenburg, ascending the throne during Swedish foreign occupation. It was he who rebuilt the military from three thousand men in the early 1640s to between twenty to thirty thousand men in the 1680s. Given that Prussia was a small, open territory with no natural frontiers for defense, an expansionist Swedish King Charles X to its north and an expansionist French King Louis XIV to its west, it’s safe to say that Prussia’s existence was dependent upon the strength of its military. Hence, from the beginning of the narrative Clark spares no pages in expounding on the importance and culture of the Prussian military.

And the final great theme of the book is the Fredericks. This is the first book on Prussian history that I have read, and I must say that it doesn’t help that every Prussian ruler beginning with Frederick William the Great Elector has Frederick as his first name. But Clark does a great job in explaining what each Frederick does, as well as the style of their rule. Nevertheless, a few Fredericks do stand out from the pack:

Frederick William the Great Elector (1640-1688) helped establish Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power after its devastation wrought during the Thirty Years’ War. Then there was Frederick the Great (1740-1786) who, among other great achievements, fought and defeated Austria during the Seven Years’ War, thereby annexing Silesia in the process and providing Prussia with money, produce, and subjects while weakening the Habsburgs in the Austrian Empire—who never quite got over the loss of Silesia. There was the Frederick William III (1797-1840) who was perceived as a weak ruler in the face of Napoleon’s conquest of Europe and was always indecisive as to whether to ally with Napoleon, commit to neutrality, or ally with Russia and the anti-Napoleon alliance of the other great European powers. And, finally, there was Frederick William IV (1840-1861) who lived through a politically tumultuous time of revolution where Prussian liberals demanded a constitution. William gave the liberals what they wanted and granted Prussia both a constitution and a parliament in the late 1840s, forever changing the political landscape of Prussia until its unification with the rest of the German states in 1871.

Should You Read Iron Kingdom?
Anyone looking for a detailed account of Prussian history written in a straightforward, matter-of-fact style will find this to be the perfect read. However, those seeking a book on strictly German history or on German history in relation to the First and Second World Wars would be better off looking elsewhere.

Well, this book is a long, thoughtful, insightful journey through history. Personally, it was the travel I have been waiting to get in a long long time. What I mean is that never, in the entire book, Clark fails to put the regional context on the level of the continental policies and relationships. One can easily understand the evolution of small Brandeburg to powerful national Germany by continuously relating these two "orders of magnitude". The tale is rich and there are many facets which create many sideview, but in the end the author successfully boils them to an intricate, albeit ordered, series of factors - political, financial, psychological and geographical. At the end of it, I bet more than 90% of the readers will conclude that "ok... I knew quite well the history of Germany and Central Europe, but this book added so many other things that I feel enriched". Clark confirms himself as one of the most interesting voices in contemporary historiography.

I will read it again, because it is big and full of comprehensive and revealing information. History divulgation at its best.

Great work on one of the most influential yet most underestimated European powers. Clark has the ability to sketch the political, cultural and social developments throughout the centuries while never bogging down in details. This makes for pleasant reading and an accessible work for non-academics. Spanning 700 pages, this book is too wide and diverse to allow for a summary. I can only recommend it to anyone interested in European and/or German history.

A great book full of insights into the history of Prussia and Germany, albeit at times a bit dry. In a long and detailed journey throughout the history it shows how the Germany basically became a primed time bomb ready for someone like Hitler and Nazi party to appear and use it to cause unimaginable destruction across the whole Europe. A cautionary tale for anyone living in a highly militarized country.

Exceptional and non-triumphalist view of Prussia. I was particularly interested in its account of the Lutheran drive on education and formation of the original Humboldt University.

Two words: incredibly informative.
would recommend to anyone who wants to get into the Prussian Empire and it's history.