German History 1770-1866 (Oxford History of Modern Europe)

Rating:
Summary: A very comprehensive survey of the German-speaking countries
Review: The author covers not only the political history of Central Europe, but also the cultural and literary developments. The political history of Central Europe under the Holy Roman Empire and then the German Confederation is tremendously complex, given the number of autonomous entities involved. The author has done an excellent job of tracing political developments as linearly as possible without getting bogged down in a morass of details. Even though the book runs to nine hundred pages, it is not lengthy in view of the author's purpose. For anyone wondering just what Germany was--and was like--prior to the rise of the Second Reich, this is an excellent resource.