Reading History

By Michael John

The German Second Empire offers a key to understanding the early twentieth century and has been the subject of voluminous research. This book is the first full-length, critical account of the modern historiography. Michael John concentrates in particular on the debates about Germany's 'special path to modernity' (Sonderweg) and on the methodological assumptions and research strategies adopted by many historians. Individual chapters focus on the relationship between social structures and political development, the nature of the German state and its systems, and the problems experienced in integrating the new nation-state. A final chapter addresses the problems facing those who wanted significant political reform before 1914 and the degree to which Germany was ungovernable on the eve of the outbreak of the First World War. The German Empire combines a balanced account of the various strands of argument present in the literature with a critical analysis of interpretative problems that still remain to be solved.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 071316526X
• ISBN13: 9780713165265
• Release Date: November 2099
• Publisher: Hodder Education Publishers
• Length: 256 Pages