Amazon.com
Praised for a thoughtful reassessment of Frederick the Great in his previous book, Giles MacDonogh tackles another controversial figure in German history, Kaiser Wilhelm II. William (as his British biographer calls him throughout) has often been dismissed as an anti-Semite and a reactionary whose policies, particularly the buildup of the German navy, inevitably led to World War I. MacDonogh's readable and thorough synthesis of current scholarship depicts a more complex man with far more in common with his English mother, Queen Victoria's daughter Vicky, than is usually acknowledged. "He had inherited her memory, her lack of snobbery, openness, vivacity, moodiness, over-estimation of her own importance, her cleverness without wisdom," writes MacDonogh, characteristically listing both good and bad traits without moralizing. William's mixed feelings about his mother indelibly shaped his attitude toward Great Britain: he strove from the moment he became emperor in 1888 for an alliance with England, yet seemed compelled to undermine it due to "a combination of admiration and envy, animosity and affection." Born in 1859, his botched delivery resulted in a withered left arm, the first in a lifelong series of painful physical and mental ailments that may well have been responsible for the intemperate outbursts that have damaged his posthumous reputation. MacDonogh reminds us that William's worst threats--to tear up the German constitution, to have his enemies shot--were never carried out. After Germany's defeat in 1918, he abdicated and retired to a manor house in Holland; he may have disliked Jews, but he viewed the Nazis with distaste and until his death in 1941 gave no indication he supported the Third Reich. MacDonogh's detailed account of William's life and times doesn't so much revise the conventional portrait as add nuance, and it will be welcomed by aficionados of old-fashioned narrative biography. --Wendy Smith
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From Booklist
Any biographer of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany must deal with three important issues in his life: his egomaniacal personality; his contentious relationship with his parents, particularly his mother, who never forgot she was the Princess Royal of Britain before marrying into the Prussian royal house; and his role in the outbreak of World War I, specifically the quality and even extent of his leadership once the war began. Historian MacDonogh, in a thorough and incisive treatment, tackles these issues with both aplomb and fairness. Brad Hooper
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Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
From Library Journal
Freelance journalist and BBC contributor MacDonogh follows his excellent Frederick the Great: A Life in Deed and Letters with a biography of the German Empire's last kaiser, Wilhelm II. MacDonogh reinvigorates our understanding of a man frequently portrayed as a villain by looking at historical problems from the kaiser's point of view. As usual, he has thoroughly researched the diaries and memoirs of Wilhelm's contemporaries, and he exhibits his findings in a delightful writing style, more elegant than academic. In an attempt to explain a puzzling question why did Wilhelm insist on building a fleet when it would provoke Britain into a world war? MacDonogh carefully separates history from propaganda, arguing that the kaiser hoped the fleet would be a unifying symbol for a Germany that still thought of itself as Prussian, Bavarian, or Swabian. MacDonogh's plausible explanations show that the kaiser was not the maniac the Allies wanted us to believe. His book contrasts sharply with John van der Kiste's Kaiser Wilhelm II: Germany's Last Emperor (LJ 10/1/99), which posited that Wilhelm was not suited to be emperor. Highly recommended for all libraries. Randall L. Schroeder, Wartburg Coll. Lib., Waverly, IA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
Pressestimmen
"A gripping narrative about a flawed, but ultimately pitiable king."--Kirkus Reviews
"MacDonogh, in a thorough and incisive treatment, tackles [the] issues with both aplomb and fairness."--Booklist
"Readers looking for an introduction to this critical figure of German and European history will find a gem."--Library Journal
"MacDonogh, in a thorough and incisive treatment, tackles [the] issues with both aplomb and fairness."--Booklist
"Readers looking for an introduction to this critical figure of German and European history will find a gem."--Library Journal
Kurzbeschreibung
Germany’s last kaiser was born in Potsdam on January 27, 1859, the son of Prince Frederick of Prussia and Princess Vicky, Queen Victoria’s eldest child. William was born with a withered arm---possibly the result of cerebral palsy---and many historians have sought in this a clue to his behavior in later life. He was believed mad by some, eccentric by others. Possessed of a ferocious temper, he was prone to reactionary statements, often contradicted by his next action or utterance. He was rumored to have sired numerous illegitimate children and yet was by all appearances a prig. He was brought up by a severe Calvinist tutor Hinzpeter, but his entourage spoiled him, allowing him to win at games and maneuvers to compensate for his deformities. This gave him a sense of inherent invincibility.
William became kaiser at age twenty-nine. Two years later he drove Bismarck out after he had blocked his liberal social policy. He destabilized the Iron Chancellor’s foreign policy by failing to renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia, a decision that opened the way for Russia’s alliance with France in 1891. William then went on to build a powerful fleet. Though he always denied his target was Britain, there is evidence that German domination of the seas was his real aim---his secretary of state, Tirpitz, was less anxious to please the British than the grandson of Queen Victoria. But William idolized the British Queen. As soon as he heard she was dying he rushed to Osborne House to be at her bedside; his own daughter later said, “The Queen of England died in the arms of the German Kaiser.”
William II is widely perceived as a warmonger who seemed to delight in power-grabbing, bloodshed, and the belligerent aims of his staff; and yet the image he carved out for himself and for posterity was that of “Emperor of peace.” Historically he has been blamed for World War I, although he made real efforts to prevent it. He has been branded an anti-Semite, but ironically the Nazis wrote him off as a “Jew-lover.” In this fascinating, authoritative new life, MacDonogh, widely praised for his biography of Frederick the Great, takes a fresh look at this complex, contradictory statesman and the charges against him to find that many of them can no longer be upheld.
William became kaiser at age twenty-nine. Two years later he drove Bismarck out after he had blocked his liberal social policy. He destabilized the Iron Chancellor’s foreign policy by failing to renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia, a decision that opened the way for Russia’s alliance with France in 1891. William then went on to build a powerful fleet. Though he always denied his target was Britain, there is evidence that German domination of the seas was his real aim---his secretary of state, Tirpitz, was less anxious to please the British than the grandson of Queen Victoria. But William idolized the British Queen. As soon as he heard she was dying he rushed to Osborne House to be at her bedside; his own daughter later said, “The Queen of England died in the arms of the German Kaiser.”
William II is widely perceived as a warmonger who seemed to delight in power-grabbing, bloodshed, and the belligerent aims of his staff; and yet the image he carved out for himself and for posterity was that of “Emperor of peace.” Historically he has been blamed for World War I, although he made real efforts to prevent it. He has been branded an anti-Semite, but ironically the Nazis wrote him off as a “Jew-lover.” In this fascinating, authoritative new life, MacDonogh, widely praised for his biography of Frederick the Great, takes a fresh look at this complex, contradictory statesman and the charges against him to find that many of them can no longer be upheld.
Über den Autor
Giles MacDonogh is a historian and journalist. His biography of Frederick the Great was a bestseller in the United Kingdom. He contributes regularly to the Financial Times, The Times, The Guardian, and Evening Standard. He lives in London.
