This riveting, New York Times bestselling biography illuminates the life of Otto von Bismarck, the statesman who unified Germany but who also embodied everything brutal and ruthless about Prussian culture.

Jonathan Steinberg draws heavily on contemporary writings, allowing Bismarck's friends and foes to tell the story. What rises from these pages is a complex giant of a man: a hypochondriac with the constitution of an ox, a brutal tyrant who could easily shed tears, a convert to an extreme form of evangelical Protestantism who secularized schools and introduced civil divorce. Bismarck may have been in sheer ability the most intelligent man to direct a great state in modern times. His brilliance and insight dazzled his contemporaries. But all agreed there was also something demonic, diabolical, overwhelming, beyond human attributes, in Bismarck's personality. He was a kind of malign genius who, behind the various postures, concealed an ice-cold contempt for his fellow human beings and a drive to control and rule them. As one contemporary noted: "the Bismarck regime was a constant orgy of scorn and abuse of mankind, collectively and individually."

In this comprehensive and expansive biography--a brilliant study in power--Jonathan Steinberg brings Bismarck to life, revealing the stark contrast between the "Iron Chancellor's" unmatched political skills and his profoundly flawed human character.

• We started tracking this book on March 4, 2011.
• This book was $9.99 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 69 times in the past 5,018 days.
• The current price of this book is $8.00 last checked 2 hours ago.
• This book is at its lowest price in the past year.
• The lowest price to date was $1.49 last reached on September 22, 2011.
• This book has been $1.49 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $14.99 last reached on September 14, 2012.
• This book has been $14.99 one time since we started tracking it.

• Biographies & MemoirsHistoricalEuropeGermany
• HistoryMilitaryWorld War I
• HistoryEuropeGermany
• Biographies & Memoirs

• Publication Date: April 6, 2011
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 608 Pages
• File Size: 11,937 KB