William Cook

Europe’s best hope

Prussia was the problem, says James Hawes. Before Bismarck, rich, enchanting Germany was of no great interest to historians

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  • The Shortest History of Germany

    James Hawes

    Old Street Publishing, pp. 226

Go into any high street bookshop and find the European history section. There’s usually a shelf or two on France and about the same on Germany, but the difference between these two categories is apparent straight away. The French stuff spans several centuries, whereas German history is confined to just 12 years.

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