Gold and Iron: Bismarck Bleichr-Order and the Building of the German Empire

Rating:
Summary: Good book, bad spelling in your entry
Review: A classic work, as is usual from Stern. Unfortunately, the Amazon entry is garbled. Bismarck's banker's name was Bleichr[o with unlaut]der.

Rating:
Summary: An Historical Masterpiece
Review: Stern's magnificent work is one of the best pieces of historical research and writing of the last century. A strikingly original work, which transcends it specific topic, 'Gold & Iron' is a fascinating study of economics, politics and power and the relation between the three.

Required reading for any self-respecting student of history.

Rating:
Summary: An Historical Masterpiece
Review: Stern's magnificent work is one of the best pieces of historical research and writing of the last century. A strikingly original work, which transcends it specific topic, 'Gold & Iron' is a fascinating study of economics, politics and power and the relation between the three.

Required reading for any self-respecting student of history.

Rating:
Summary: As if it was just the gold that built the german empire
Review: The book gives you the idea that if you can find a banker who can finance you, you can build an empire, regardless of who you are, and what type of a nation you have!!

Rating:
Summary: A Poignant Portrait of an Embattled Financier and His Times
Review: The first major work expounding on Bismarck's pecuniary relationship with the prominent Prussian banker Gerson von Bleichroder, Gold and Iron is truly a seminal study about the rise of the German nation. It splendidly explores the creation of the Prusso-Germanic empire through the lens of Bismarck, its architect, and Bleichroder, his Jewish financier.

Bleichroder became useful to Bismarck in many ways. He was embroiled in affaires d'Etat as well as Bismarck's affaires de famille. He managed the Chancellor's personal portfolio, helped finance wars against Denmark and Austria, and served as an intermediary for the massive indemnity levied against the French in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War. Bleichroder's remarkable and long-running relationship with the Rothschilds made his services doubly worthwhile to both Bismarck and Germany. However, Stern makes the poignant observation that while Bleichroder's success won him access to the corridors of power everywhere, his very success prevented him from being truly free. He became a kind of Tantalus, always seeking out recognition and confirmation of his accomplishments without really attaining what he was reaching for: a position at parity, if not becoming primus inter pares, vis-à-vis his peers and contemporaries.

Ponderous the book may be, but readers who are deeply interested in the political economy of Europe and in the crucial role played by embattled financiers in the rise of empires will be exceedingly enlightened--and entertained--by this monumental tome.