Iron and Blood by Peter H Wilson

Iron and Blood by Peter H Wilson

*WINNER OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY* *A DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022* 'No one interested in the history of Europe can afford not to read this stupendous book' Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph 'Endlessly fascinating ... History has returned to Europe, and Iron and Blood is an excellent place to start getting reacquainted with it' The Times From the acclaimed author of Europe's Tragedy and The Holy Roman Empire, a powerful account of German-speaking Europe through five centuries of military history For most of its existence German-speaking Europe has been splintered into innumerable states - some substantial (such as Austria and Prussia) and some consisting of just a few Alpine meadows. Its military experience has also been extraordinarily varied: threatened and threatening; a mere buffer-zone, and a global threat. Iron and Blood is a startlingly ambitious and absorbing book. It encompasses five centuries of political, military, technological and economic change to tell the story of the German-speaking lands, from the Rhine to the Balkan frontier, from Switzerland to the North Sea. Wilson's narrative considers everything from weapons development to recruitment to battlefield strategy. Germans' military impact on the rest of Europe has been immense. If there is one constant it has been the sense of being beset by seemingly more powerful enemies - France or Russia or Turkey - and the need to strike a rapid knockout blow to ensure a favourable result. Almost inevitably, this has in practice meant protracted, relentless and often unwinnable wars, and - in 1939-1945 - moral catastrophe. The author of definitive books on the Holy Roman Empire and the Thirty Years War, Peter Wilson has with Iron and Blood written his masterpiece. 'Hugely impressive' Richard J. Evans, Times Literary Supplement

The scholarship of this book is breathtaking [and] Wilson relates it with a command of his subject that is unparalleledNo one interested in the history of Europe, and of the Germans in particular, can afford not to read this stupendous book. -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *
Endlessly fascinating ... History has returned to Europe, and Iron and Blood is an excellent place to start getting reacquainted with it. -- Oliver Moody * The Times *
Hugely impressive ... By setting his account in the broader context of European history, Wilson launches a sustained attack on the teleological Prussocentrism of the traditional story. -- Richard J. Evans * Times Literary Supplement *
Iron and Blood delves into politics, economics, technology and social developments. Its long view of Germany's military history, magisterial detail and acute analysis provide a new understanding of what was once Europe's warring heart. * The Economist *
Ambitious ... While Germany cannot leave its past behind, it can learn from it, if it dares to look ... Iron and Blood is a timely book, arguing powerfully that 'German history should not be read backwards'. -- Katja Hoyer * History Today *
Formidably erudite ... What is now Germany's shameful past was once Adolf Hitler's vision of the future. Reimagined by Vladimir Putin, that spectral vision now haunts our present. Hence the importance and urgency of Wilson's investigation. -- Daniel Johnson * The Critic *
A work of first-rate scholarship ... will become the starting point for all students of military history, not only of Germany but of Europe as a whole. -- Jonathan Boff * BBC History Magazine *
An ambitious book which was badly needed ... illuminating on the complicated relationship between Prussia, both state and society, and its army .... required reading for serious military historians. -- Barney White-Spunner * Aspects of History *

There is much to admire in this book, from the astounding breadth of its scholarship
to its exceedingly ambitious scope ... a fresh perspective on German history.

-- Stephen G. Fritz * Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *

Peter H. Wilson is the author of the highly acclaimed Europe's Tragedy: A New History of the Thirty Years War (2009) and The Holy Roman Empire: A Thousand Years of Europe's History (2016). He is the Chichele Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780241355565
ISBN 10	0241355567
Title	Iron and Blood
Author	Peter H Wilson
Condition	Unavailable
Publisher	Penguin Books Ltd
Year published	2022-10-06
Number of pages	976
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable