The Peculiarities of German History: Bourgeois Society and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Germany

Rating:
Summary: The Peculiarities of German History
Review: For historians of modern Germany, this book is essential reading. Refuting the long-standing Soderweg Thesis, Geoff Eley and David Blackbourn present a revisionist interpretation of the German bourgeoisie in the nineteenth century. The authors beautifully display the faults that are inherent in the Sonderweg, and illustrate how the German middle class was actually at the forefront of German politics and finance during this period. The implications of this idea is essential to understanding the course of German history in the twentieth century, particularly with regards to the ascent of the Nazis. I found Geoff Eley's half of the book to be the most useful. In addition to being the easier of the two sections to read, Eley's portion is less muddled in "technical jargon" that anyone who is not familiar with German history could understand. In summary, this book is highly recommended for anyone wishing to learn more about the development of modern Germany.

Rating:
Summary: The Peculiarities of German History
Review: For historians of modern Germany, this book is essential reading. Refuting the long-standing Soderweg Thesis, Geoff Eley and David Blackbourn present a revisionist interpretation of the German bourgeoisie in the nineteenth century. The authors beautifully display the faults that are inherent in the Sonderweg, and illustrate how the German middle class was actually at the forefront of German politics and finance during this period. The implications of this idea is essential to understanding the course of German history in the twentieth century, particularly with regards to the ascent of the Nazis. I found Geoff Eley's half of the book to be the most useful. In addition to being the easier of the two sections to read, Eley's portion is less muddled in "technical jargon" that anyone who is not familiar with German history could understand. In summary, this book is highly recommended for anyone wishing to learn more about the development of modern Germany.

Rating:
Summary: Important book...badly written
Review: This book is a very important counter argument to the Sonderweg thesis and should be read by anyone wishing to understand why Germany ended up with a leader like Hitler.
However, while this book is incredibly important it's just unreadable. The authors use evidence and other information from the English and French revolutions to back up their point and sometimes its difficult for the reader to grasp if this book is about Germany or France and England. This book should be classified as one of the "really bad books" that despite being absolutely a wretched read is important for a historian to have on their shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Good Luck
Review: This book was terrible. The writing was simply dreadful and is not conducive to understanding the author's thesis. Good luck to anyone who has to read this for class, you are going to need it.