Until very recently Germany has frequently been characterized as the 'country without revolution', and the catastrophies of its recent history have been attributed to the lack of successful modernizing impulses. This series of essays by leading German scholars explores the effects of revolutions upon German history from 1789 to 1989 - the date of Germany's 'peaceful revolution' - and discusses the fundamental questions of reform and revolution, the effects of war, counter-revolution and defeat on the social process of modernization. The book not only examines the revolutions of 1789, 1848,...