With a careful blend of concision and rich detail, Sam A. Mustafa's readable and lively text traces German history from Roman times to the present, placing particular emphasis on the past three centuries. Balanced and clearly written, the book guides readers expertly through the complex tangle of Germany's past. Mustafa provides a judicious mix of narrative history and historiography, tracing the influential individuals and broad social currents, myths and legends, and political and cultural elements that have shaped the country. In addition, the book is unique in bringing the story fully to...

With a careful blend of concision and rich detail, Sam A. Mustafa's readable and lively text traces German history from Roman times to the present, placing particular emphasis on the past three centuries. Balanced and clearly written, the book guides readers expertly through the complex tangle of Germany's past. Mustafa provides a judicious mix of narrative history and historiography, tracing the influential individuals and broad social currents, myths and legends, and political and cultural elements that have shaped the country. In addition, the book is unique in bringing the story fully to...

Placing the creation of Westphalia within the context of the larger German story of the Napoleonic Wars, this groundbreaking book offers the only complete history of Napoleon's grand experiment to construct a model state in Germany. In 1807, in the wake of two years of victories over the Austrians, Prussians, and Russians, Napoleon redrew the map of central Europe by fashioning a new German state. Dubbing it the Kingdom of Westphalia, he appointed his 23-year-old brother Jerome as its king. Sam A. Mustafa shows how Westphalia became a proving ground for the allegedly liberating and modern...