Iron Kingdom

The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947

De: Christopher Clark

Narrado por: 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

A sociological analysis

Rather than a linear history, the book analyzes Prussia's governance and society. Still interesting for that, though

Heady

I started off determined to keep listening without needing to comprehend everything, avoiding the rewind button even if I had zoned out for a while. Eventually I got comfortable with the academic language, the book became enjoyable to listen to on commutes, and I learned a lot. I also *missed* a lot... but that's why I'll probably re-listen to it some day in the distant future, after I've recovered from the marathon of intellectual exercise.

Highly informative, textbook style detail

If you’re looking for a military history of Prussian battles this book isn’t for you. This book does drive deeply into the culture and politics of various time periods to show the full development of Prussia as a state. The detail was great but this book is also long so unless you are really interested it won’t keep your attention.

A Rich Tapestry

This is a full examination of Prussia from its roots in Brandenburg to its formal banning in 1947. (As a one volume book it is not, of course, comprehensive.) We see its beginnings, growth, setbacks, rise and diminishing before its final demise. There is an examination of trends and myths-both intentional and inadvertent. Some of the standard caricatures do have their basis in fact, some were intentionally put forth but there are many that just do not fit. Frederick the Great, the Prussian Warrior King exemplar would only write in French since he considered the German language unfit. The many Prussians who joined the Nazis, and the many who joined the plots against Hitler. There are many rich and vibrant threads to be interwoven that belie the standard tale of Prussia equals obedience equals war equals nazis equals Prussia as evil incarnate.

Learned a tremendous amount about Prussian history

I knew practically nothing about Prussian history before listening to this book. I struggled to comprehend part of the narrative at the beginning, but it became easier to follow after the first couple chapters. This is a great book if your interested in Fredrick the Great, as it not only covers his time ruling but provides the context of before and after. The narration was well done and sounded professional.

A Scholarly Book

This is a sense history, hindered in places with inaccessible, scholarly jargon and a cadence that must have proved difficult for the narrator, as they struggled in many places with placing pauses and emphasis. the information is in depth and thorough. I had some trouble following in places the chronology of events due to a style that seemed to alternate between simple chronology and organization by subject or topic.

Boring, convoluted, poorly narrated

The narrator had no idea how to pronounce many common names. Writer jumped around the timeline way too much.

Tough Going but Worth It

Written in long, convoluted prose, spiced with difficult German names and places, a prior knowledge of European history and geography would make the going much easier. Having neither to a great degree I had to do independent reading to fully understand many of the key events and personalities . However, the book's focus is tailored to its more limited subject, Prussia, and takes a very deep dive into just that. Slow going but rich in insight and into the politics, culture, religion and psychology of the area and by extension, into German history. Fills a big gap in my understanding of this vital area of the world.

Best history book I've ever read

I picked up this book because I had occasionally heard of Prussia, and never knew what it was. I knew that my understanding of Central European history was severely lacking, but didn't expect this book to lay it out so thoroughly and engagingly. The author managed to be not only informative, but engaging in his coverage of a region and era that tends to be covered very poorly in American history curricula.

I have to say that this book is _very_ well-structured, and that the author managed to reall bring these historical actors to life.

The narrator was pretty good, too.

Somebody got their PhD published...

I'm 7+ hours into this, and frankly it's painful. It's not really in chronological order, but rather moves through a series if concepts and facets, constantly jumping back and forth. We left the narrative after the famous death of Katte, and I honestly don't know if we're going to get back to it. I came here for the Great Elector, Fredrick the Great, Leuthen, Zorndorf, an explanation of how Prussia was gutted like a fish by Napoleon, and of course "blood and iron"....instead I'm hearing about the gender gynamics of the Junckers in the last 1600s. Seriously, it's a PhD thesis.