Here is a broad and richly documented examination of a little studied social group--the German nobility outside Prussia. Gregory Pedlow considers the nobles of the small but representative state of Hesse-Kassel from the end of the ancien regime to the era of German unification. Although this period has been most often described in terms of the "triumph of the bourgeoisie," the author shows that landholding Hessian nobles were able to preserve much of their political prestige and social and economic power during these years. By demonstrating a mixture of conservatism and flexibility instead...