Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947 (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 2006; vuoden 2009 painos)

Começou por ser um pequeno território medieval, atrasado, no centro da Europa, com a particularidade de o seu governante ser um dos príncipes-eleitores na escolha do Imperador do Sacro Império Romano-Germânico. Mas com o passar do tempo, através de uma política cuidadosa de alianças e de boa governação, foi evoluindo, até se tornar a principal força por trás do Império Alemão, conferindo-lhe muitas das características que hoje associamos a este Império, em especial o militarismo, a eficiente máquina burocrática do Estado, mas também os valores do despotismo esclarecido.

Numa narrativa cativante e abrangente, Christopher Clark conta-nos a história deste reino, das suas conquistas e dos seus reveses, das suas batalhas e dos seus chefes carismáticos, de Frederico, o Grande, a Bismarck. O relato fascinante de um país que durante séculos desempenhou um papel crucial no xadrez geopolítico europeu. ( )

Prussia was an unlikely candidate to become a great power. Yet from the economically unpromising Brandenberg region, Prussia eventually established itself as a European power, ultimately coalescing the various states of Germany into a single, powerful nation. The question of how this took place is at the heart of Christopher Clark's book, a valuable survey of the three centuries of Prussia's rise, dominance, and eventual dissolution after World War II. It is a very Carlylean tale in his telling, giving much of the credit for the success Prussia enjoyed to its leadership, particularly the remarkably capable series of rulers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Together they used a combination of careful alliances, agreements, and marriages to expand their holdings, to the point where they dominated northern Germany by the early 19th century. The country which subsequently emerged was in many respects "Prussia plus," with Prussian institutions doubling in some instances as the main organ of government for all of Germany. Though this changed after World War I, the loss of the kaiser -- the dominant figure in the Prussian constitution -- left a hole that was largely unfilled until Adolf Hitler's rise to power during the Great Depression.

Clark's book describes all of this in an assured and well-sourced narrative that surveys the broader social and cultural context for Prussia's emergence. It is by far the best account of Prussia's modern history, one that is unlikely to be bettered for the foreseeable future. For anyone seeking a useful overview for anyone interested in learning about the emergence and collapse of this vanished kingdom and European power, this is the book to read. ( )

A weird thing about this book is that it explains what was going on in Prussia in detail at multiple points, but assumes that the reader knows exactly what else is going on in other parts of Europe at the same time. Maybe I’m too transnational (and also I don’t actually recall enough detail of my European history) but there were constant references to the other German states without really explaining what made them German too or what the differences were. It didn’t help that the chapters jumped back and forth in time a bunch because they were only sort-of chronological and sort-of about culture, religion, etc. in particular periods. ( )

This took a long time to get going, and parts of "Iron Kingdom" read like a masters thesis. As such, it took me a year or so to finish and it was only the last section or so, as Prussia grew into the biggest Germanic nation and into the jewel of the German Empire and then its downfall, with parts of Prussia now included in Poland, Russia and the Baltic nations.

Will Prussia rise again? It seems distant but stranger things have happened and if they do I won't be so worried about its rebirth. ( )

De geschiedenis van Pruisen vereist eigenlijk een meerdelig werk. Dit dikke boek is dus in feite nog maar een beknopte geschiedenis. Het is alleszins een interessant boek. Toch een opmerking. Dat de schrijver het bestaan van de Nederlanden van 1815 tot 1830 een ongelukkige tijd noemt is zeer bedenkelijk. Als historicus zou hij toch moeten weten dat hij daarmee de mening weergeeft van het officiële België en de landen die de scheuring van de Nederlanden steunden. Dat een hedendaags historicus nog altijd niet beseft dat voor de meerderheid van de bevolking de ongelukkige tijd pas begon vanaf 1830 is spijtige onwetendheid of opzettelijke verdraaiing van de feiten. ( )