Now available in paperback, this is a uniquely authoritative study of Germany from the mid-eighteenth century to the formation of the Bismarckian Reich. James J. Sheehan gives an extensive account of social and cultural, as well as political developments, and shows that the creation of a Prussian-led nation-state should not be seen as `natural' or inevitable. He shows how German history in this period was shaped by three separable yet closely linked developments: the rise of sovereign territorial states, the expansion of economic activity and social mobility, and the emergence of a literary culture.
