A tremendous research job, revealing a lot about the way the world really worked. Bismarck was a bad, bad guy. My only complaint is that it got a little repetitive; editing out 10-15% of the text would make it much more readable.

Stern's magnificent work is one of the best pieces of historical research and writing of the last century. A strikingly original work, which transcends it specific topic, 'Gold & Iron' is a fascinating study of economics, politics and power and the relation between the three.

Required reading for any self-respecting student of history.

A classic work, as is usual from Stern. Unfortunately, the Amazon entry is garbled. Bismarck's banker's name was Bleichr[o with unlaut]der.

Stern supplies great insight into the foundations of National Socialism in Germany and its results. However, of greater note, is Stern's ability to convey to his readers that modern nation states need reform and strong nationalistic tendencies to survive. Though I may disagree with many of the assertions in the essay collection, the book should be seen as a landmark analysis of a time that advanced ancient philosophies of government while engendering new forms with comparable impact on society.

I am an entering freshman and this book was recommended in the president's letter to the calss of 2003...it is wonderful~!

If you can subtract out the venom dripping from nearly every sentence, you'll get an insight into a few of the forces that shaped the Nazi tide. If Stern hadn't been so ridiculously hateful towards these long-dead "proto-Nazis" it would have been an excellent read.

But any serious student of the NS time will have to balance this and many other works describing many other lead-up/ins to the '30s. The Nazis and their influences are a study in quantum schizophrenia, with ol' Uncle Adolf (sorta) riding herd. And of course the only thing weirder than the Nazis and all their braided streams of influence is the tangled, overgrown paths back to them through the historical literature.

Stern's book is an excellent study of German anti-semitism and Pan Germanism that ultimately concluded in Hitler and the Nazis. While it's impossible to prove that Hitler read the three authors that Stern studies in this book it's quite likely that Hitler either did read them or someone close to him read them and detailed their contents to him. Many of Hitler's ideas are either directly in the writings of the three men studied in this book or are extensions of their writings. A vastly important book that will lead a reader to the conclusion that Hitler wasn't just an "accident" of German history, he was its ultimate frightening conclusion.

Yes I may be a history student, but this book would truly appeal to anyone, especially if you are the least bit bewildered about German history or are seeking to understand it a bit more. Stern does an excellent job examining three 'average' people in Germany spanning 1871-1933 (roughly). 'Cultural despair' is an interesting concept and Stern does an excellent job showing how this was such an issue in modernising Germany and how much it meant to them. In no ways does it fully explain Nazism, but it illustrates how powerful one's 'culture' can be to a person or group of people. Howeverm it isn't just limited to Germans in any sense--it's something we should all understand and Stern's work truly anables the reader to do so.

This book commands interest at several points, but in the end doesn't come together as an integrated whole. It is a collection of former essays loosely linked by overlapping content, specifically the experience and achievement of German Jewish intellectuals and scientists during the first part of the century. The centerpiece is a description of the friendship between Albert Einstein and Fritz Haber, and the manner in which each attempted to come to terms with the rise of fascism in Germany. Also interesting are Stern's essay on the experience since reunification of former residents of East Germany, and the fate of Max Planck under the Nazis. Worth reading if you're a specialist, but in the end not biographical or focused enough.

The title of the review applies more clearly to the first part of the book: chapters 1-4 and, especially, chapter 3--the centerpiece and gem of the book--where the fascinating discussion of Einstein is central. The essays in the second part of the book are well done but less interesting. The book's title says a great deal about what one finds in the first four chapters, and one learns a lot about Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, whether the focus is on science, culture, religion, the politics and economics of science, or the intricate ties that bound government, business, the universities, and both the applied and theoretical scientists. All of these strands are discussed in a writing style that can only be described as masterful. I remember a class wth Fritz Stern many years ago where, among many things, two virtues in particular stood out: clarity and honesty. Some things do not change.

The book's cover shows a photo of a happy Albert Einstein on board the German ship Deutschland, as he heads home for Germany from a trip abroad. On the back cover it is entitled "Heimreise nach Deutschland," meaning the journey home to Germany. The last essay of the book concludes with Professor Stern--who is German by birth--explaining how it feels to be "heimatlos," meaning to be without a home. The word "Heimat," carries a special meaning of warmth and comfort associated with one's homeland. It requires a good insight into German culture to understand the emotions it evokes for Germans who find themselves away from home.

Between "Heimreise" and "heimatlos," lies the book's theme that recounts the poignant experiences of several world renown German scientists, who were Jews. This is not a book about scientists and their accomplishments, but about accomplished Germans who were ostracized by their country for being Jews.

Contrary to some recent writings, these men and their families were well integrated and accepted by their colleagues and German society. They were Germans who could trace their ancestry in Germany for many generations. They were patriots just as any other German. Like any other German they contributed to the war effort during WW1. They distinguished themselves as soldiers. They prospered and enjoyed their German culture and lifestyle. They commanded respect and were held in esteem for their accomplishments. Then came the Nazis.

The common theme of the biographical sketches of each of the personalities is a reflection on the sense of loss, the profound disillusionment, which these men felt as they came to accept the stark reality that their country of birth, their beloved fatherland, was turning against them. It is hard to imagine the deep sense of betrayal these men, and others like them, must have felt when the Nazis deprived them of their citizenship and drove them out of their "Heimat." The book tells a sad story, not of death and destruction, not of material dispossession, but of the loss of civil rights, disillusionment, and of the bitter sense of rejection felt by some of Germany's best and finest.

Other than that, Fritz Stern's style makes the book a real joy to read.