Description
Book Synopsis A comprehensive history of German society in this period, providing a broad survey of its development. The volume is thematically organized and designed to give easy access to the major topics and issues of the Bismarkian and Wilhelmine eras. The statistical appendix contains a wide range of social, economic and political data. Written with the English-speaking student in mind, this book is likely to become a widely used text for this period, incorporating as it does twenty years of further research on the German Empire since the appearance of Hans-Ulrich Wehler's classic work.
Trade Review "... not a conventional political history but a comprehensive account of German society, alive to the conflicts and contradictions in that society and attentive to broader social, economic and cultural developments." · New York Times Book Review
"... a milestone in the historiography of the Kaiserreich ... an important and useful book both for teachers and scholars ... Students will be stimulated by the prospect of historiographic debate without being bored or turned off by its arcane twists and turns ... For now and ... for some time to come, [this book] will set the scholarly standard as we as fill a pedagogical void." · The Historian
"... the best comprehensive textbook on Imperial Germany available to date. [The author's] self-consciously didactic stance, his clarity of writing, his excellent cross-referencing throughout and ... the marvelous statistical appendix…will recommend the book to undergraduates." · History Today
"... a comprehensive, very readable introduction to German society ... Accessible to general readers and undergraduates; recommended for all libraries." · Choice
Table of Contents Introduction
PART I: ECONOMY
Chapter 1. Economic Sectors and Structural Change
Chapter 2. National and Regional Economic Developments
Chapter 3. The Organization of Industry
PART II: SOCIETY
Chapter 4. Demographic Structure and Development
Chapter 5. Social Stratification and Inequalities
Chapter 6. Women and Men
Chapter 7. Issues of Generation and Socialization
Chapter 8. Minorities and Majorities
Chapter 9. Basic Patterns of Social Inequality and their Milieus
PART III: CULTURE
Chapter 10. High Culture and Popular Culture
Chapter 11. The Sciences and Humanities
Chapter 12. The Press, Its Readerships, and the Role of Intellectuals
PART IV: THE REALM OF POLITICS
Chapter 13. The Constitutional Framework
Chapter 14. Parties and Elections in a Period of Dynamic Change
Chapter 15. Organizations and Movements in the Extraparliamentary Sphere
Chapter 16. Structure and Functional Changes in the Executive Branch
Chapter 17. The Evolution of Domestic Politics, 1871–1914
Chapter 18. Foreign Policy
PART V: WORLD WAR I:
Chapter 19. The July Crisis of 1914
Chapter 20. Strategy, Diplomacy, War Aims As Seen “From Above”
Chapter 21. The World War As Experienced “From Below”
Chapter 22. Military Defeat and the Collapse of the Hohenzollern Monarchy
Bibliography
Index
