Baron Friedrich vom Stein's leadership of the reform movement in Prussia has long been considered part of a critically important phase of early nineteenth-century German history. R. C. Raack describes in vivid detail the combination of forces and circumstances which brought about Stein's fall from power as chief minister of Frederick William III. Most of the major Prussian political figures of the period were deeply embroiled in the complex, and sometimes curious, series of events which culminated in the nomination of his successors, and Raack's incisive study provides an enlightening...

Exploiting new findings from former East Bloc archives and from long-ignored Western sources, this book presents a wholly new picture of the coming of World War II, Allied wartime diplomacy, and the origins of the Cold War. The author reveals that the story - widely believed by historians and Western wartime leaders alike - that Stalin's purposes in European diplomacy from 1938 on were mainly defensive is a fantasy. Indeed, this is one of the longest enduring products of Stalin's propaganda, of long-term political control of archival materials, and of the gullibility of Western observers. The...