In a skillful combination of biographical case study and contextual analysis, Scheck presents a readable, often thrilling, account of the troubled transition period before the Nazi catastrophe. Drawing from a vast base of previously unused documents, the book traces the conspiracies and public campaigns of Great Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, a key figure of the German right. By focusing on Tirpitz, known as a supreme politician and manipulator of public opinion, Scheck explains the political and ideological problems contributing to the breakdown of the conservative German right and to the...