It is difficult to write an interesting book on politics when 1) the national politics in question cover a country unfamiliar to the reader and 2) included individuals from an obscure past, yet Professor Craig managed to create a history that is lively and very informative. We tend to think of Prussia as a militarized state, going back to the time of Frederick the Great, and yet there were several attempts by both the civilian and military leadership to exert civilian control over the military (primarily the officer corps). Each attempt failed due to either poor and uncoordinated political moves, foreign wars or the revolution of 1848.
Especially beginning with the Prussian revival during the time of Napoleon, military leaders such as Scharnhorst and Gneisenau tried to move the army away from being the exclusive tool of the Kaiser to build a bond between the mass of the population and the officer corps. It was believed that only by bringing the military under direct civilian control could the idea of a German state be fulfilled as without that control, the military would only be a tool of oppression. With the victory of the Franco-Prussian war however, the civilian leadership fell more into the orbit of the military as it was the military which provided an opportunity for all Germans to be free from the fear of the French and to a lesser extent, of the Austrian (Hapsburg) Empire. Remember that for centuries, the French had conducted numerous murderous campaigns on German soil to the cost of the mass of inhabitants.
It is ironic that when civilian control was finally established over the military, it was done by none other than Hitler who mistrusted the old officer corps. By quickly expanding the military a few years after his take over, during the height of his support, he was able to dilute the power of the old quasi-aristocratic officer corps and infuse the military with National Socialistic ideas. The old officer corps was also bought off with a vastly increased military spending, lavish honors and political maneuvering which undercut their cohesion and ability and will to act.
A well written book which provides concise backgrounds of key players, the only weakness are referrals using German terms and phrases (which require help in translation via computer), it is a lesson the importance in not only civilian control of the military, but civilian control which is rational and founded on the dignity of all peoples.
