Description
Gustav Stresemann was the exceptional political figure of his time. His early death in 1929 has long been viewed as the beginning of the end for the Weimar Republic and the opening through which Hitler was able to come to power. His career was marked by many contradictions but also a pervading loyalty to the values of liberalism and nationalism. This enabled him in time both to adjust to defeat and revolution and to recognize in the Republic the only basis on which Germans could unite, and in European cooperation the only way to avoid a new war. His attempt to build a stable Germany as an equal power in a stable Europe throws an important light on German history in a critical time. Hitler was the beneficiary of his failure but, so long as he was alive, Stresemann offered Germans a clear alternative to the Nazis. Jonathan Wright's fascinating new study is the first modern biography of Stresemann to appear in English or German.
Reviews
Wright presents a rich multifaceted picture that soildly rests on contemporary evidence...well written book * Klaus Schwabe Journal of European Integration History *
This biography is detailed, shows measured judgment, and leaves a sympathetic impression of its subject ... the book presents a powerful image of a deeply patriotic politician. * Raffael Scheck, The German Quarterly *
Jonathan Wright has written a full-scale academic biography directed at an international specialist readership ... this work will set new standards in research. * German Historical Institute Bulletin *
Wright provides a balanced account of Stresemann's chancellorship in 1923, doing justice to its significance. This part is not merely fundamental reading for anyone interested in Stresemann; it sets new standards for Weimar historiography. The same applies to Wright's description and analysis of German foreign policy between 1924 and 1929. * German Historical Institute Bulletin *
This is a great work which will take some superseding in form and content. * German Historical Institute Bulletin *
[Wright] has produced a thorough, well researched study of the man he sees as "Weimar's Greatest Statesman" ... Wright's interest is in Stresemann as the political leader and the foreign minister, and the book is tightly and clearly focused on this interest. Maps, photographs and a glossary enhance the work ... Scholars will find it the most thorough, up-to-date political study of Stresemann available in English. * H-German *
A serious biography of another chancellor that offers a good basis for a compare-and-contrast study of modern and Weimar Germany. * Wall Street Journal *
... sympathetic and authoritative biographer ... Wright provides a full and persuasive account of Stresemann's professional progression. * THES *
It is an elegantly-written book that persuasively makes the case for Stresemann's indispensability to the poor old Weimar Republic. * Niall Ferguson, Books of the Year, Sunday Telegraph *
Well researched new biography. * Amos Elon, New York Review of Books *
Lucid and authoritative. * The Spectator *
Absorbing and well argued book. * Richard Evans, Times Literary Supplement *
In this major new book, based on wide reading in Stresemann's private papers, German, British and French archives, and the voluminous diplomatic record of the times, the Oxford historian Jonathan Wright mounts a subtle, nuanced and on the whole convincing defence against [such] criticism [of Stresemann]. * Richard Evans, Times Literary Supplement *
Meticulously researched and authoritative biography. * Richard Overy, Literary Review *
... the first comprehensive biography in English of one of Germany's three greatest diplomats ... an admirably old-fashioned, academic biography: lucidly and crisply written, it deftly bridges domestic politics and diplomacy. * Ben Schwarz, The Atlantic Monthly *
Indispensable for understanding both interwar diplomacy--one of the most important and complex subjects of modern history--and the German problem, a conundrum perhaps still with us. * Ben Schwarz, The Atlantic Monthly *
If Gustav Stresemann, an enigmatic and controversial figure, had not died prematurely in 1929, Germany might just have avoided a Hitler dictatorship. Jonathan Wright's magisterial and authoritative study is to be warmly welcomed as an unrivalled biography of the most important European statesman of the 1920s. * Sir Ian Kershaw *
Wright's book is monumental in its research. * Ron Grant, History Teaching Review *
Book Information
ISBN 9780198219491
Author Jonathan Wright
Format Hardback
Page Count 606
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 242mm * 163mm * 37mm
Reviews
Wright presents a rich multifaceted picture that soildly rests on contemporary evidence...well written book * Klaus Schwabe Journal of European Integration History *
This biography is detailed, shows measured judgment, and leaves a sympathetic impression of its subject ... the book presents a powerful image of a deeply patriotic politician. * Raffael Scheck, The German Quarterly *
Jonathan Wright has written a full-scale academic biography directed at an international specialist readership ... this work will set new standards in research. * German Historical Institute Bulletin *
Wright provides a balanced account of Stresemann's chancellorship in 1923, doing justice to its significance. This part is not merely fundamental reading for anyone interested in Stresemann; it sets new standards for Weimar historiography. The same applies to Wright's description and analysis of German foreign policy between 1924 and 1929. * German Historical Institute Bulletin *
This is a great work which will take some superseding in form and content. * German Historical Institute Bulletin *
[Wright] has produced a thorough, well researched study of the man he sees as "Weimar's Greatest Statesman" ... Wright's interest is in Stresemann as the political leader and the foreign minister, and the book is tightly and clearly focused on this interest. Maps, photographs and a glossary enhance the work ... Scholars will find it the most thorough, up-to-date political study of Stresemann available in English. * H-German *
A serious biography of another chancellor that offers a good basis for a compare-and-contrast study of modern and Weimar Germany. * Wall Street Journal *
... sympathetic and authoritative biographer ... Wright provides a full and persuasive account of Stresemann's professional progression. * THES *
It is an elegantly-written book that persuasively makes the case for Stresemann's indispensability to the poor old Weimar Republic. * Niall Ferguson, Books of the Year, Sunday Telegraph *
Well researched new biography. * Amos Elon, New York Review of Books *
Lucid and authoritative. * The Spectator *
Absorbing and well argued book. * Richard Evans, Times Literary Supplement *
In this major new book, based on wide reading in Stresemann's private papers, German, British and French archives, and the voluminous diplomatic record of the times, the Oxford historian Jonathan Wright mounts a subtle, nuanced and on the whole convincing defence against [such] criticism [of Stresemann]. * Richard Evans, Times Literary Supplement *
Meticulously researched and authoritative biography. * Richard Overy, Literary Review *
... the first comprehensive biography in English of one of Germany's three greatest diplomats ... an admirably old-fashioned, academic biography: lucidly and crisply written, it deftly bridges domestic politics and diplomacy. * Ben Schwarz, The Atlantic Monthly *
Indispensable for understanding both interwar diplomacy--one of the most important and complex subjects of modern history--and the German problem, a conundrum perhaps still with us. * Ben Schwarz, The Atlantic Monthly *
If Gustav Stresemann, an enigmatic and controversial figure, had not died prematurely in 1929, Germany might just have avoided a Hitler dictatorship. Jonathan Wright's magisterial and authoritative study is to be warmly welcomed as an unrivalled biography of the most important European statesman of the 1920s. * Sir Ian Kershaw *
Wright's book is monumental in its research. * Ron Grant, History Teaching Review *
Book Information
ISBN 9780198219491
Author Jonathan Wright
Format Hardback
Page Count 606
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 242mm * 163mm * 37mm
