Blood and Iron, Katja Hoyer
Blood and Iron, Katja Hoyer
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Blood and Iron
The Rise and Fall of the German Empire; 1871–1918

Author: Katja Hoyer

Narrator: Natasha Soudek

Unabridged: 8 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/05/2022

Synopsis

This vivid fifty-year history of Germany from 1871–1918—which inspired events that forever changed the European continent—is the story of the Second Reich from its violent beginnings and rise to power to its calamitous defeat in the First World War.Before 1871, Germany was not yet a nation but simply an idea.Its founder, Otto von Bismarck, had a formidable task at hand. How would he bring thirty-nine individual states under the yoke of a single Kaiser? How would he convince 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 this unique study of five decades that changed the course of modern history, Katja Hoyer tells the story of the German Empire’s beginning to its defeat in World War I.This often startling narrative is a dramatic tale of national self-discovery, social upheaval, and realpolitik that ended, as it started, in blood and iron.

About Katja Hoyer

Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian specializing in modern German history. She was born in East Germany and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London and has written for History Today and BBC History Extra among other history outlets. Katja now lives in Sussex, England.

About Natasha Soudek

Natasha Soudek was raised in the South, speaks native German, lived in Berlin and Vienna, and finally settled in the Lower East Side of New York City. After honing her stage presence by studying acting and playing hundreds of live music shows (singing and playing bass), she moved to LA to record with Channel/DreamWorks and act on TV. Her voice is as distinct and memorable as the range of characters she’s played on-screen.

Reviews

Goodreads review by David on March 02, 2023

This is very comprehensive but as with his 100 Years War book, Wilson has trouble not getting swamped in his narrative by including every historical event or detail. A more syncretic, interpretive account, summarizing the narrative in broad strokes, of maybe half the length, would have foregrounded......more

Goodreads review by Scott on April 14, 2023

(Audiobook) Settle in, for this is a long work. Wilson attempts to give a one-volume treatment to the military history of the German states/Germany, covering over 500 years. He captures a lot, but he can’t get everything. Wilson looks to dispel the myth that the German military really is based on th......more

Goodreads review by Monika on June 24, 2023

It’s 5 stars if you want extreme detail of everything from belt buckles to leader whims in a generalized broad summary of the time and region covered. The book fails to capture the blood part of German history except for neat very short summaries which do not capture both the pain and consequences b......more

Goodreads review by Liam on October 21, 2023

Another book, in English, which puts further nails in the coffin of the idea of Germany's Sonderweg (special path); that it is still necessary at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century shows the persistence of popular, and comforting, myths in popular history. It is also, I think, a way fo......more

Goodreads review by Nick on January 20, 2023

A good book but not exactly an easy read. This is what I would describe as “hardcore” military history, covering off areas as diverse as logistics, the rights of soldiers to marry and how armies were funded. It covers from circa 1500 to the present day and includes Germany, Switzerland, Austria and......more

Quotes

“Brisk, thoughtful and thoroughly engaging.” Sunday Times (London)

“A balanced and hugely accessible introduction to the age when Germany became Germany.” The Times (London)

“Superb…Skillfully unveils how nationalism can come into being out of a sense of comparative inferiority. It’s hard to imagine a better, more up-to-date history of its subject.”  Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Splendidly lucid and readable: Katja Hoyer has managed to compress fifty years of great complexity into a compelling and comprehensible narrative—and it is a story that every European needs to know and to understand.” Neil MacGregor, New York Times bestselling author 

“Hoyer’s well-researched and well-written book is 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, New York Times bestselling author

“Splendidly lucid and readable: Hoyer has managed to compress fifty years of great complexity into a compelling and comprehensible narrative.” Neil MacGregor, author of Germany: Memories of a Nation

“Hoyer brings this dense period of German history to life with a lightness of touch that complements her impressive scholarship. Highly recommended.” Julia Boyd, author of Travelers in the Third Reich

“Concise and incisive, this sparkling examination of the rise and fall of the Second Reich is an excellent introduction to a crucial period of German history.” Tim Blanning, author of Frederick the Great

“An excellent book on the rise and fall of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918 that is packed with detail and illuminating insights. This book fills a gap in our understanding of the Second Reich, and it helps us to understand more clearly the reasons for its failure.” Frank McDonough, author of The Hitler Years

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