Hammer or Anvil?: Modern Germany 1648-Present

If you want to learn about Germany history, this is a great book. It's easy to read but it was published in 1995 (I think). So it doesn't cover current history. The last 25 years has been a very important time for Germany. I only gave it four stars because it is an older book.

I am a history major and this was the textbook that I used in class. It is an excellent resource and overview of German society since 1648 to the present. The author, Holger Herwig gives excellent social analysis, thoughts and actions of key figures from Kaiser Friederich Wilhelm I to Adolf Hitler. Herwig's commentaries and observations of how the different states of the Holy Roman Empire survived and eventually united into a unifed German state (a process that took over 200 years) are on target. Herwig dosen't forget to tell about the rivalry between Austria and Prussia, Napoleon and the different German kings, and the relationship between the smaller yet important German states had with each other.The book also describes the Napoleonic Wars, the industrial awakening of Germany-Prussia, and the gradual unification of a modern Germany. Herwig also describes how the Nazi party came to form as well and the inner-working of the party. Herwig gives both pro's and con's of the Nazi regime and how Germany eventually overcame the stigma of WWII to become a leader in todays world.This is a highly informative book and is highly recommended to German history students and enthusiasts of European history.