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Iron Kingdom
- The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 28 hrs and 24 mins
- Categories: History, Military
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Publisher's Summary
In the aftermath of World War II, Prussia - a centuries-old state pivotal to Europe's development - ceased to exist. In their eagerness to erase all traces of the Third Reich from the earth, the Allies believed that Prussia, the very embodiment of German militarism, had to be abolished. But as Christopher Clark reveals in this pioneering history, Prussia's legacy is far more complex.
What we find is a kingdom that existed nearly half a millennium ago as a patchwork of territorial fragments, with neither significant resources nor a coherent culture. With its capital in Berlin, Prussia grew from being a small, poor, disregarded medieval state into one of the most vigorous and powerful nations in Europe. Iron Kingdom traces Prussia's involvement in the continent's foundational religious and political conflagrations: from the devastations of the Thirty Years' War through centuries of political machinations to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, from the enlightenment of Frederick the Great to the destructive conquests of Napoleon, and from the "iron and blood" policies of Bismarck to the creation of the German Empire in 1871 and all that implied for the tumultuous 20th century.
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What listeners say about Iron Kingdom
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Chris Shannon
- 2018-12-12
Infuriating narrator can't say German names
A fascinating listen. But the narrator mispronounces almost every German name. Despite this, entirely worth a listen and details the history of Prussia.
8 people found this helpful
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- Langer
- 2019-12-07
Good History Textbook. Not Good Format
If you're a real history buff, this book is for you. Otherwise... This is a scholarly work. Well-researched, full of quotes. I bet the paper version has plenty of footnotes. Clark's descriptions of military events is spot-on. The sociopolitical discussions are less palatable. The book generally follows a linear timeline, but jumps around a bit based on the subject matter. If you're studying Prussian History, this work has all you need. Unfortunately, the topic, outside of a college class, is pretty dry - and doesn't translate well to the audiobook configuration. Further, in the download there are no chapter headings - a date range for each chapter would have been helpful to be able to navigate through this 29 (twenty-nine!!) hour recording. The paper form of the book, with an index, would be a great desk-reference. Shaun Grindell is an average reader...not terrible given the subject matter. His tone is good, he reads German and Latin words fairly accurately (albeit not perfectly), and he tries to inject a modicum of emotion into the text. But I swear I heard him stifling a yawn at one point. Probably worth 3.5 stars out of 5, but I can't give it that. Buy the hard copy.
1 person found this helpful
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- Steve
- 2020-11-13
Everything you didn’t want to know about Prussia
This book was an excruciating experience. Prussian history as written by a mid level bureaucrat or accountant. It has tons of incredibly interesting information, but those gems are buried under a mountain of mundane minutiae. When the book finally ended I actually exclaimed out loud “Thank F***ing Christ!” Not my fave.
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- Jeff Wise
- 2017-10-04
If you are looking for a very detailed accounting of Prussian history this is it.
Very detailed. I think the paper copy would have been a better choice for the ability to annotate and reference. As an audio book it went a little too deep in to the minutiae for effective storytelling. I’ve reviewed the narrator before, and he has gotten better, but still so very breathy in his pronunciation and diction. Very very well researched book though.
11 people found this helpful
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- JCC
- 2017-03-24
great book, easy to listen to, well written
great book, easy to listen to, well written and great narration. look forward to more from author and narrator
8 people found this helpful
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- Namdrol
- 2017-05-18
Intellectually Honest and Clearly Written
This work is clean, massive, and source based: it is everything I look for in a work of history.
11 people found this helpful
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- Nashville Cat
- 2017-03-04
Avoided endless stories about world wars
This is a great book because it sticks to the topic: Prussia. It covers social issues and economic issues and is very interesting as to the development of Europe. Once Germany is formed Prussia becomes dominant and the nation turns in a giant barracks. There is discussion of the world wars but at 20,000 feet and the consequences of Prussian militarism become apparent. Highly recommended.
23 people found this helpful
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- Bill Root
- 2017-04-06
Excellent Overview
I thoroughly enjoyed this book both as a lesson in history and culture. Clark dives right in to the alliances and conflicts of the 17th century Holy Roman Empire. The first chapter is a bit of a whirlwind and I found myself reading articles in other publications to fill myself in on historical events discussed in this book so that I could keep up with the author. My patience and extra studies paid off though. The book is an excellent read, providing incites as to what defined Prussia as a state, and how it's place in history affect our understanding of the German people. I highly recommend this book.
12 people found this helpful
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- alexyakkavoo
- 2020-06-03
Let me make it easier for you.
I have listened a lot of books on Audible - most of them history - and I just can't take any more of this one. It's like being nibbled to death by ducks or a bedtime story from the IRS tax form instructions. For a place that influenced so much European history, Prussia should be much more interesting than this book makes it out to be: Take a few hours and repeat the following lines with variations and you will get an idea what this book is like. (The dates and people and places are in a random order.) Albert Frederick April 4, 1602 August 8, 1732 Carl von Brühl Christian of Oliva David Caro Dorothea of Montau February 2, 1556 Frederick I Frederick William Friedrich Bessel Fyodor Ertell George William Hans Albrecht von Barfus Henry Berger January 1, 1611 John Endres John Sigismund July 7, 1632 June 6, 1589 Leonie Cohn Ludolf von Alvensleben (Major General) March 3, 1568 May 5, 1715 October 10, 1547 Paul Beneke Peter Crüger September 9, 1788
3 people found this helpful
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- H3
- 2019-01-25
Excellent! Good narration, engaging writing!!
the narrator did an amazing job!!!!!!! I'm probably overly critical of poor narration, and pretty quick to criticize, but this guy narrated this entire tome with talent and professionalism. I'm sure any audiobook lover knows how valuable that is. the book itself, I found very engaging and informative. it's similar to Massey's Peter the Great narrative language, fascinating vignettes that add dimension to the historical information and even humorous tone make this book well worth even a few listens.
3 people found this helpful
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- adds
- 2017-04-10
Fantastic read
I really enjoyed this as it finally provided information on Prussia and it's curious disappearance from Europe.
Narrative stayed true to Prussian history and didn't get bogged down with military history that is important for Prussia's emergence.
3 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2018-03-12
Tough Going but Worth It
Written in long, convoluted prose, spiced with difficult German names and places, a prior knowledge of European history and geography would make the going much easier. Having neither to a great degree I had to do independent reading to fully understand many of the key events and personalities . However, the book's focus is tailored to its more limited subject, Prussia, and takes a very deep dive into just that. Slow going but rich in insight and into the politics, culture, religion and psychology of the area and by extension, into German history. Fills a big gap in my understanding of this vital area of the world.
2 people found this helpful
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- Mike
- 2017-03-13
Very Interesting... Alot of names and places.
What made the experience of listening to Iron Kingdom the most enjoyable?
Hearing a history of a people I did not know much about.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Iron Kingdom?
Description of the general populations during the times of war.
Any additional comments?
Very in depth - sometimes to in depth for me . LOL
5 people found this helpful