Iron and Blood

The scholarship of this book is breathtaking [and] Wilson relates it with a command of his subject that is unparalleled. No one interested in the history of Europe, and of the Germans in particular, can afford not to read this stupendous book. – Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *
Endlessly fascinating … History has returned to Europe, and Iron and Blood is an excellent place to start getting reacquainted with it. – Oliver Moody * The Times *
Hugely impressive … By setting his account in the broader context of European history, Wilson launches a sustained attack on the teleological Prussocentrism of the traditional story. – Richard J. Evans * Times Literary Supplement *
Iron and Blood delves into politics, economics, technology and social developments. Its long view of Germany’s military history, magisterial detail and acute analysis provide a new understanding of what was once Europe’s warring heart. * The Economist *
Ambitious … While Germany cannot leave its past behind, it can learn from it, if it dares to look … Iron and Blood is a timely book, arguing powerfully that ‘German history should not be read backwards’. – Katja Hoyer * History Today *
Formidably erudite … What is now Germany’s shameful past was once Adolf Hitler’s vision of the future. Reimagined by Vladimir Putin, that spectral vision now haunts our present. Hence the importance and urgency of Wilson’s investigation. – Daniel Johnson * The Critic *
A work of first-rate scholarship … will become the starting point for all students of military history, not only of Germany but of Europe as a whole. – Jonathan Boff * BBC History Magazine *
An ambitious book which was badly needed … illuminating on the complicated relationship between Prussia, both state and society, and its army …. required reading for serious military historians. – Barney White-Spunner * Aspects of History *

There is much to admire in this book, from the astounding breadth of its scholarship
to its exceedingly ambitious scope … a fresh perspective on German history.

Peter H. Wilson is the author of the highly acclaimed Europe’s Tragedy- A New History of the Thirty Years War (2009) and The Holy Roman Empire- A Thousand Years of Europe’s History (2016). He is the Chichele Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford.

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