Blood and Iron : The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871-1918

'Fluently written and convincingly argued, Blood and Iron is a brilliant account of an important period of history, and one that marks the arrival of a major new talent.'- Daily Telegraph'The best biography of the Second Reich in years ...It will undoubtedly become the essential account of this vitally important part of European history.' - Andrew Roberts'Outstanding, authoritative and gripping.' - Simon Sebag MontefioreBefore 1871, Germany was not yet a nation but simply an idea.Otto von Bismarck had a formidable task at hand. How would he bring thirty-nine individual states under the yoke of a single Kaiser, convincing proud Prussians, Bavarians and Rhinelanders to become Germans?Once united, could the young European nation wield enough power to rival the empires of Britain and France - all without destroying itself in the process?In a unique study of five decades that changed the course of modern history, Katja Hoyer tells the story of the German Empire from its violent beginnings t