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Bismarck The Man and Statesman AJP Taylor Books

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Bismarck The Man and Statesman AJP Taylor Books

Otto von Bismarck was, according to A.J.P. Taylor, an ordinary and “boorish Junker” yet one who managed to break “into the charmed circle of privilege”. The Junkers were landed Prussian nobility of a mostly minor sort. The “boorish Junker” Bismarck was later granted the title of Prince, but that was the least of it. Far more important was the fact that for almost two decades of the second half of the 19th century he was by far the most powerful statesman on the continent of Europe.

Appointed to the office of Minister-President in 1862 by the Prussian king Wilhelm I, a man he consistently intimidated and bullied, Bismarck went on to bring about dramatic and lasting changes in the face of Europe. He provoked wars with Denmark, Austria, and France. The Franco-Prussian war assisted him in pressuring the small German principalities into forming a German empire, with himself as chancellor, or “Iron Chancellor” as he soon became known.

Hardheaded, egotistical, pragmatic and cynical, Bismarck had a “profound contempt for moralizing”. He engaged in “realpolitik” in both foreign and domestic matters. Domestically, he created Europe’s first welfare state and introduced universal suffrage, though he did so entirely to gain tactical domestic political advantage while actually entertaining a deep personal distrust of democracy. Bismarck’s luck ended in 1888 with the death of Wilhelm I, whose grandson, Wilhelm II, dismissed him two years later. Though long a hero to German nationalists, at the age of 75, his career was over.
Little is known about Bismarck that is not covered in this dense, fact-packed biography. A.J.P. Taylor who ranked high among the most eminent of 20th century British historians, specialized in 19th century European diplomacy. He tends to assume a significant level of erudition on the part of the reader, resulting in the fact that references to previous historical events are sometimes bewildering or lost. This is, in other words, a serious and detailed scholarly work requiring intellectual exertion to work through. Those willing to put in the effort will be rewarded, however. Bismarck’s role in shaping the future of Europe was profound and so there is much of significant to be learned from this book,


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Bismarck The Man and Statesman AJP Taylor Books Reviews

However I was disappointed that Alan Taylor was not reading it. He was a very engaging speaker.
The critics are right that it presumes a level of knowledge about 19th-century European history, and some of the political terms may confuse American readers ("liberal," for instance, doesn't mean what it does in the US). But if you're patient enough and willing to do some Googling on the side to fill in the gaps in your own knowledge, you will be rewarded. Bismarck's grasp of geopolitics is unmatched, and he was a master at manipulation on the domestic front.
This is a great biography of Bismarck written by perhaps the greatest British historian of the 20th century. Taylor takes great pains to understand one of the more complex figures in world history. His objective and insightful analysis is remarkable. Unlike modern revisionists, he can look at both the positives and negatives when analyzing history. I have read four books by A.J.P. Taylor and will read anything he has written.
This is a classic of German history by the great British historian A.J.P. Taylor. In the book, he depicts the Iron Chancellor as a determined yet cautious diplomat and a faithful realpolitik statesman. Although uncompromising in objective, he is resilient to political context and flexible to different parties. Bismarck's success in uniting the German states and maintaining peace in Europe in the last decades of the nineteenth century, however, is also a product of luck. Without any master plan, the German statesman only acted contingently. A truly masterpiece, Taylor's succinct biography of Bismarck provides a clear and detailed portrait of German history.
As previous reviewers have noted, this biography presumes a rather wide-ranging previous knowledge of both European and German history, including various specifics of Bismarck's own life and times. This makes it a rather poor first biography for the man.

Furthermore, the author intersperses his own acerbic wit and commentary throughout the text, presuming he knows why Bismarck made the various decisions that he did and evaluating on his own terms. This also makes it a rather poor introduction to Bismarck as man. Those genuinely interested in the psychological aspects to this great figure would probably wish to know how he arrived at his various opinions, including those commonly reckoned counter-revolutionary. The author merely presumes he knows and criticizes on the basis of this presumption, yet without explaining any of the formative steps that lead him to his various unpopular opinions. At least the modern psychological biography attempts to deconstruct. Taylor, instead, leaves us with little or nothing.

For example, at the end of the book we are still left asking why Bismarck has achieved all that he has in the course of his life. Taylor presumes his frequent invocation of a sovereign deity is a farce. But, in that case, what is it that motivates Bismarck? He is apparently quite indifferent to the world at large. He lives at some degree of remove from society and continues to cherish his family first and foremost. He also does not seem to put much stock in worldly possessions.

What was it that motivated this great figure? How did he arrive at his opinions? Which opinions were constant and which changed with the times and circumstances? What did he ultimately achieve?

All of these questions remain unanswered at the end; they are not even asked.
Otto von Bismarck was, according to A.J.P. Taylor, an ordinary and “boorish Junker” yet one who managed to break “into the charmed circle of privilege”. The Junkers were landed Prussian nobility of a mostly minor sort. The “boorish Junker” Bismarck was later granted the title of Prince, but that was the least of it. Far more important was the fact that for almost two decades of the second half of the 19th century he was by far the most powerful statesman on the continent of Europe.

Appointed to the office of Minister-President in 1862 by the Prussian king Wilhelm I, a man he consistently intimidated and bullied, Bismarck went on to bring about dramatic and lasting changes in the face of Europe. He provoked wars with Denmark, Austria, and France. The Franco-Prussian war assisted him in pressuring the small German principalities into forming a German empire, with himself as chancellor, or “Iron Chancellor” as he soon became known.

Hardheaded, egotistical, pragmatic and cynical, Bismarck had a “profound contempt for moralizing”. He engaged in “realpolitik” in both foreign and domestic matters. Domestically, he created Europe’s first welfare state and introduced universal suffrage, though he did so entirely to gain tactical domestic political advantage while actually entertaining a deep personal distrust of democracy. Bismarck’s luck ended in 1888 with the death of Wilhelm I, whose grandson, Wilhelm II, dismissed him two years later. Though long a hero to German nationalists, at the age of 75, his career was over.
Little is known about Bismarck that is not covered in this dense, fact-packed biography. A.J.P. Taylor who ranked high among the most eminent of 20th century British historians, specialized in 19th century European diplomacy. He tends to assume a significant level of erudition on the part of the reader, resulting in the fact that references to previous historical events are sometimes bewildering or lost. This is, in other words, a serious and detailed scholarly work requiring intellectual exertion to work through. Those willing to put in the effort will be rewarded, however. Bismarck’s role in shaping the future of Europe was profound and so there is much of significant to be learned from this book,