For sure, this was one of the most detailed and well documented history books I got the chance to read so far.
I picked the book more for all the positive reviews I read on it than being specifically interested in the topic. But it really gripped my interest and my whole attention, firstly because Prussia's history is indeed quite epic, having been involved or in the middle of the greatest conflicts Europe has been through since the 16th century. Secondly, its the author's writing that tackles the events at different depth of details, from an overview of the European context to the more granular context of the individual (monarchs, statesmen, and common folk). What impressed me the most was the narrative of battles, for example. So utterly descriptive, dramatic, gory, and epic overall, that you'd expect to find this in a novel. However, all of this is based on sources from the epoch, such as diaries and memoirs of people taking part in those events.

The one star missing in my review is because of the change of pace and style in the last few chapters of the book. Up to the German unification in 1871, the reader will get used to a certain writing style that covers the events, as I mentioned, from different perspectives: the European context, the German context, the biography of different characters, the description of events, socio economic statistics and so on. This changes once things get more complicated, as referencing Prussia and Prussia-Germany are getting more vague. I can't really tell why that happened, for example, why it feels, paradoxically, that Prussia is taken more as an isolate entity in relation to the new German Empire and Europe in general. The context is missing, making it therefore hard to appreciate the dimension of the events in Prussia without a reference in the German or the European context.
Furthermore, there are more aspects I felt that were lacking towards the end. Going through the biography of the most important statesman was a trademark of this book. While this happens at the beginning with Bismarck as well, there's nothing on the tensions between him and William II, which ultimately resulted in his retirement.
Also, I don't remember reading anything about the policies of the German Empire that had a profound impact on the escalation that led to the WWI, mainly the pursuit of becoming a naval and colonial power.
I also expected a more in-depth analysis of the origins of antisemitism in Prussia in the early 20th century, not only mentioning it. The author does debunk some myths about the relation of Prussia and the Nazis, but there are some facts that, in my opinion, deserved a more detailed analysis.
The ending subchapter also doesn't feel like an ending at all. Instead of a few last words on what the author described in detail, we get another chapter that talks about the individuality that provinces within Prussia have always had. This is an interesting topic, but it still doesn't play the role of a conclusion to the whole book.

I wrote more about the negative aspects I found, but overall, what I said at the beginning still stands. Therefore, I absolutely loved this book, and I had lots of fun reading it.

This book covers from later 1500s to the end of WWII. It has a clearly-stated purpose of reevaluating Prussia’s impact on Naziism, but is largely a general survey of Prussia during the time it existed as a clearly defined political and cultural force. I would have appreciated more context from before the official beginnings, but going further back into history would have probably made the book unwieldy; it’s certainly long enough. I learned many new things from this book’s perspective on major European historical events and movements. It has a bit of a college textbook-y feel and has some dry spells, but it is still a good read for autodidacts of history.

The history of Prussia has been written, and re-written many times, but this one probably nailed it. As an Australian, now working at Cambridge University, the author Christopher Clark has "no obligation (or temptation) either to lament or celebrate the Prussian record". Instead Clark "aims to understand all the forces that made, and unmade Prussia."

The caricature of Prussia is more popular unfortunately, than the real thing according to Clark. As one contemporary put it, Prussia was not a state with an army, but an army with a state, "where it was quartered, so to speak". Clark takes great efforts to dispel this myth, and many others beside in this massive book.

Starting of with a brief introduction to the Mark of Brandenburg, the geographical area which houses Berlin and the heart of what we would call Prussia, Clark swiftly moves to the creation of Prussia proper with fortuitous marriage alliances and trades by the House of Hohenzollern. The trauma of the Thirty Years War on the Prussian and German psyche is also explored. I learnt a lot about early modern European history as Clark deftly weaves a story with all the early Prussian kings, especially Frederick II ( "the Great") and their interactions with the other European Great Powers. Half-way through, we tackle Napoleon and his long-lasting effects on the Iron Kingdom (especially, its sudden doubling in size, thanks to the addition of the Rhineland to Prussia after the congress of Vienna).

Clark doesn't cover just military and political history. A large portion is devoted to cultural history, he also males a strong case for Prussia as a center of Enlightenment especially under Frederick William I and his son Frederick the Great (almost all of the 18th Century and beyond). Prussia was also one of the first European states to emancipate the Jews, and Jews, Poles and other minorities are much discussed throughout the book. Religious movements such as those of the Pietists (a Lutheran sub-sect roughly half way between the Hohenzollerns who were Calvinists, and the public who were Lutherans) is also explained, especially the long lasting effects of the Pietist way of thinking on Prussia. Even the education reforms carried out by the state would have long lasting changes leading to very efficient bureaucracy. In fact, the cornerstone of the Western education system such as the inculcation of thinking, and emphasis on research and critical analysis, even in early schooling was a Prussian invention.

The last few chapters are devoted to the tumultuous 19th Century revolutions, culminating in the creation of Germany, thanks to Bismarck and a host of others. The problem of a Prussia-in-Germany, and how it was never solved, and also the conflicting chains of military and civilian command are very well explained.

The only criticism I can lay at the book's feet are the decades leading up to WWI, the chapters are quite jumbled, jumping from one instance to the other. However Clark is back to his best with Nazism and Prussianism, and how equating the two of them is absurd. Unfortunately Germany lost, and was dismembered by the Allied leaders who very much believed in that fact. Now, most of historical Prussia is in Poland, while East Prussia's erstwhile capital of Konigsburg is an Russian exclave of Kalningrad.

Overall, I'd like to think that the narration of this book has imbibed much that is good in Prussia, it is straight forward, very clear and objective. A landmark not only on the historiography of Prussia but also on how modern history books should be written.

Prussia, contrary to what all of my friends think when I tell them about this book, is not me mispronouncing Russia. It was actually a real....thing? Okay, it's hard to say what exactly Prussia was. First, confusingly enough, it was the Duchy of Brandenburg (always remember to pass your duchy on the left hand side kids), ruled by the Duke of Brandenburg who was an Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, which actually had nothing to do with holiness or Romans. The role of an Elector was to vote for whatever Habsburg was next in line to be Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. You see kids, this Empire had an elected leader, which is somewhat contradictory, but not to worry because its not like the Electors ever elected anyone other than the heir of the previous emperor. So it was a fake elective/real hereditary emperorship. That makes sense, right?

Anywho, then the Duchy of Brandenburg acquired East Prussia (but not West Prussia, which was actually closer to Brandenburg), and through some tricky diplomatic manuevering, secured the right to call themselves Kings *in* Prussia, but not *of* Prussia. So then the thing became known as the Duchy of Brandenburg-Prussia. Then some wars were fought and they were the Kingdom of Brandenburg-Prussia. Then the ruler was called a King rather than an Elector. Oh, if thats not confusing for you, almost every ruler of this Mighty Morphin' Medieval State was named either Frederick or Frederick William. And once the Duchy became a Kingdom they started from "the 1st" again, so there were literally people who could be called something like Frederick William the 1st/3rd. I'm not joking.

So then some more wars were fought and, lucky ducks!, the Kingdom of Brandenburg-Prussia acquired the rest of Prussia and kind of just became known as Prussia. Which is a shame, because Brandenburg-Prussia really rolls off the tongue. Then more wars, and eventually this fellow named Otto von Bismarck creates the new German Empire, which was pretty much run by Prussia but included other fun places like Bavaria and Saxony. But this Bismarckian Empire did not include Austria, though Austria had what they needed and said Russia was just a friend. So then Prussia was a state within a new Empire but their King was also Emperor and they had the most people elected to the empire's parliament, so I don't even know what you'd call that.

You'd think that a history like what I've summarized above would be an impossible read, but thanks to the brilliant writing of the author, its actually not. This book is a remarkable achievement, taking the almost laughably complex history of Prussia and sorting it out in a cogent, comprehensible manner. Doing this would be difficult enough, but the author also manages to explain how and why the history unfolded as it did, showing an absolutely amazing talent for historical narrative. It is a must read for anyone interested in the history of Germany and its people, modern or medieval, and should be regarded as *the* standard text on Prussia.

I just finished this sweeping history of the rise and fall of Prussia, from 1600 until 1947. It chronicles the rise of Brandenburg and the ruling Hohenzollern dynasty, including the famous Frederick The Great. The author makes a convincing case that Prussia was an artificial political construct rather than a place with its own unique cultural tradition. While Brandenburg had such an identity, what became "Prussia" did not.

As the Hohenzollerns added to their territory they brought in disparate places that had little in common other than being generally Germanic. The Hohenzollerns ruled over East Prussia, West Prussia, Brandenburg, Pomerania, Silesia, and a few other smaller areas. Prussia included much of modern day Poland, which was divided up between the Russians and the Prussians for about a century.

As Prussia began its wars of conquest and territorial acquisition, it became the unifying force within the German heartland, replacing Austria as the Germanic hegemon in Central Europe. By 1871 Prussia under Kaiser William I and Otto von Bismarck had unified Germany and declared the new German empire. The high water mark of Prussia and the German empire occurred not too long after that declaration, as Germany allied with Austria-Hungary and eventually the Ottoman Turks leading up to World War One. By the end of the war, the Kaiser had abdicated and political revolution swept through Germany, bringing on the tumultuous years of the Weimar Republic, and eventually the rise of the Nazis.

The book is worth a read to anyone interested in Prussian and/or German history, and it rejects a few misconceptions along the way. At more than 680 pages it is an investment of time, but is well worth it for the student of German history who wants to fully understand how this one time nation-state came to be, and how it came to its ultimate demise.

I was impressed by the book up until the moment I started reading the last chapter titled 'Endings.'

In it the author is no longer impartial, neutral but assumes an obvious anti-Prussian stance. This was especially evident in parts where criticism of the Left is ignored or merely mentioned in a short paragraph while entire pages were devoted to criticize conservatives who opposed the total dismantlement of their homeland. I also found some part preposterous like when Rosa Luxembourg and her army of Leftist extremists were presented as martyrs who gave their lives fighting Prussian conservatives - the embodiment of evil. Why was there no mention of their association with an oppressive, violent and intolerant ideology that eventually killed more people than the Nazi regime did? There was only one tiny mention of their affinity for violence and for the imposition of their views on the majority of Germans who never supported their cause or tactics. After all, during their most successful election they merely got 13% of the total vote. Regardless of all these facts, they are presented in a much better light than their ideological opponents.

Even when the author wrote about the rise of the Nazi or the rejuvenation of the Conservative forces in the inter-war period, he never took a closer look in order to understand why that happened. Why did people flock to the conservatives and the Nazis? An entire chapter should have been devoted to failed policies of the Socialists and to their utter incompetence at running the country and in introducing efficient and stable economic and social policies. Their failure to government was the catalyst that brought Hitler to power. At one moment there is mention of SPD's failed agricultural policies which caused prices and food imports to increase. However, the author stopped there and never expanded on what wider consequences on Germany and its people these had.

The worst part comes at a later stage when the author justifies US, French and British efforts at dismantling Prussia. I found it especially hypocritical how British or French did it in order to put an end to Prussian militarism which caused so much evil in the world. How can anyone stomach this when both London and Paris were epicenters of colonialism, an ideology that enslaved whole continents. Prussia was maybe a militarist regime that harassed its neighbors but they were never in the same league as France or the United Kingdom. After all, the UK was closely allied to Belgium, a kingdom which eradicated entire peoples in what is Congo today. Another fine example of hypocrisy in the British Empire's relationship with the Ottoman Empire. What role did London play in prolonging Istanbul's control over the enslaved Christians in the Balkans? How can they then claim that it was their moral duty to put an end to Prussia which caused so much evil? These nations have no moral ground upon which to stand in order to justify their attitude towards Prussia.

All in all, the ending was extremely disappointing. An unbiased approach to this era of Prussian history would have made this book an absolute masterpiece. This setup merely makes it another piece of Anglo-Saxon, anti-Prussian propaganda.

Huge work that chronologically marches one through the development of the Prussian state. Since 355 years, and all dimensions of society are(at least in some times and places)covered, not everything is as fleshed out as you would need for a real in depth understanding of the eras. Yet Clarke weaves together a coherent whole and expresses in brevity enough to leave one with at least a cursory understanding of the main developments in Prussian political space. And that is obviously by design since, although we have a general history of Prussia and the peoples inhabiting it here, the main focal point is always the relationship between state, whoever holds its souvereignity, and the government at the local level.

Remarkably enough imo, growing up in Germany, and passing through the German school system I learned nothing about Prussia, beyond some brisk remarks on social welfare policies under Bismarck.
That this is an actual loss of valuable hindsight of a complex state, more enlightened than I assumed, with unique challenges and opportunities, is Clarke's main thesis. The narrative about the militaristic disciplined aggressive Prussia only captures some parts of the truth, and throws shade on others, that maybe deserve to be in the light as well. I suppose here the "weak point" of the book is that when the plot thickens, and during the 19th century more and more happens, Prussia becomes bigger, with more internal players, and the chu chu train of modernity increases it's speed, the narrative, rather than slowing down to offset, keeps the same pace.
Hence, ultimately leaving me with many ideas of potential perspectives I could take on the matter, having rough outlines of "what the matter consists in as Clarke told it and I have not yet forgotten", rather than thoroughly reconstructed causal links.
As always, of course, this is also my failing, and my opportunity. Maybe I will reread, since the summaries by Clarke seem to be very concise, fairly argued, and often insightful.

But for now I am happy with what I have gotten, and think I can benefit from using this work as a jumping of point to delve deeper into worldly, western, european, and particularly german history.
Not to forget the increased sense of place I now enjoy, which is a benefit, which will differ of course to the degree ones family and friends pasts have been linked to any subject of history.

Bottom line: I would recommend this book, as audio, or text for most people who think that history might be useful in one way or another, or who think that that it could aid in adding some color to our experience.
And if you are less inclined toward seeking those in history, well, I won't be the one to pitch it to you. It's good tho, and much the more important for the small degree of pop-knowledge pervading about the domain of the book^^

This was extremely thorough.
I honestly think I'll read this again once I get a better grasp on this period and place in history.
This is less about the individuals who held the throne and more about how the culture and country was formed.
Very interesting.

This is a lot of history. A LOT, even though this book mainly focuses on about 350 years of German and European history (with a bit of setup/background in the 15th and 16th centuries) but it absolutely helped my understanding of the development of the Prussian and German state and culture.

The author explores various aspects of this history and I think he did a decent job of organizing the information, but it is not a easy task to present all this information and make it engaging, there were times I found it a bit dry, but that may just be a matter of personal taste, so I am going to go ahead and give this book 4.5 stars. One thing I would have liked for this book to include is a list/table of the various rulers of Prussia, for reference.

This is not the only book on German history out there, but after having read it, I can say that it is certainly a worthy addition to any library of German, or world history. It's interesting to see how Prussia developed from a minor to a major player on the Eurasian and world stage.

Een kunst op zichzelf om de complete geschiedenis van de staat Pruisen in een boek te beschrijven. Dit doet Clark op een aantrekkelijke wijze. Met dit werk, dat misschien wel het beste (recente) werk is over de geschiedenis van Pruisen, laat hij zien dat hij een goede historicus en schrijver is. Een aanrader voor iedereen die meer wilt weten over deze bijzondere staat.

As a result of - not in spite of - its titanic role in European and world history, the Kingdom of Prussia was utterly dismembered after World War II. It is thus the only one of the 19th century 'Great Powers' to no longer exist in any appreciable, continuous sense.

Such a fascinating subject deserves a large scale synoptic and synthetic modern history focused on Prussia as distinct from Germany, and Cambridge-based Australian historian Christopher Clark has been the one to do it.

Clark's clarity of thought is awe-inspiring, as he succeeds in corralling the many major branches of history (social, economic, political, cultural, theological, gender issues, military etc.) into one cohesive whole without ever feeling either rushed or bogged down.

In other words, anything above the level of anthropological minutiae gets a reasonable level of attention and it is complemented by extensive endnotes and references comprising some 20% of the wordcount. Many of them are of course in German, though a wealth of further reading in English is also to be discerned from those notes.

We get some sense of the careers of the kinds of continent-bestriding colossi after which zeppelins and battleships are named, such as 'The Great Elector' Frederick William of Brandenburg, Frederick the Great, von Clausewitz, Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Hindenburg.

Importantly however, we get real insight into all classes and sections of society, from rural peasants (themselves far from a homogenous group) and 'Junker' landowners, to urban bourgeois, to Polish and Jewish minorities.

The discussions of enlightenment ideas and religious interactions are especially intricate, not only between Catholics, Protestants and Jews, but also in terms of squabbles within Protestantism - particularly as concerns Lutherans, Calvinists and the wildcard category of 'Pietist' Lutherans.

One also obtains a sense of the many grey areas reagrding the notoriously Prussian trait of 'militarism', which was already widely considered a major threat to European peace and security long before it inspired and was co-opted by the obscene evils of the Nazi regime.

That the story ends in 1947 and not 1871 is also significant. Clark wisely avoids re-telling the histories of the World Wars as such, instead maintaining a laser focus on the immense complexities of the Prussian state and identity in its interactions within the nominally unified German Empire, Weimar Republic, and Third Reich.

One possible criticism is the relative paucity of discussion on Prussia's colonial empire. There is an interlude about the genocide of the Herero people in what is now Namibia, but it's used primarily to exemplify the highly separate and conflicting nature of civilian and military command structures within the Kingdom. If he chose not to give a holistic summary of the matter that's fine, though more indication on texts about 'German South West Africa' would have been nice.

Clark opts for Anglicized spellings such as Frederick and William, though the odd inconsistency slips through such as Wilhelm or not applying the accents to a Hungarian name the same way between paragraphs. Otherwise it's immaculately edited for such a long volume.

In all, this is exactly the book I was hoping for and it's difficult to imagine it being supplanted any time soon as the foremost overview history of Prussia in English.

Iron Kingdom is an outstanding account of the state which, piece by piece, grew to become one of Europe's most powerful nations by 1914.
Tracing its growth from a small German Electorate in 1600, through its acquisition of territory which saw it become a significant player in the European power game in the early nineteenth century to being the nation chiefly responsible for German unification in 1871 is a fascinating journey brilliantly written and painstakingly researched by Clark.
German unification was the high water point in the book and, after that, I rather lost interest first because it became difficult to distinguish between Prussian and German history after 1871 and secondly I'd read so much about the period 1871-1914 (including the same author's superb The Sleepwalkers) I felt over familiar with the course of European history during that time.
The Prussian state was abolished by the victorious allies after the end of the Second World War, having been blamed for the start of two World Wars. Prussian militarism, it was said, encouraged Germany to flex its muscles on the battlefield with disastrous consequences. There was more to Prussia than soldiers, however, as Clark's excellent book shows.

David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil (thebluepencil.co.uk)