There would be no German today as we know it without the Moltke Family. Their personal history is the history of the rise and fall of Germany. Friedrich's style is so fluid and engaging that the dead come to life, the scenes from all across Europe emerge. If you want to understand German history, this is the place to start.

In the relatively brief history of Germany as a unitary state (131 years old this year), few non-royal families have played as important a role as the von Moltke family. In a time when the 'sweeping family saga' is a popular fiction genre, the fact that this story isn't only true, but also extremely well written, should commend it to any reader with an interest in European history.

Of course, the von Moltke family's impact actually reaches back before the Reich into the history of Prussia. The first of three men Otto Friedrich focuses on, Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke (1800-1891), was Prussia's key military strategist during the Franco-Prussian War, and possibly Germany's greatest strategist ever, surpassing even his friend and mentor, Clausewitz. His nephew and namesake, General Helmuth von Moltke (1848-1916), on the other hand, was nervous, indecisive, and largely unable to deal with the responsibilities of command that came to him in part due to his famous name. The third Helmuth, Count Helmuth James von Moltke (1907-1945), was one of nature's noblemen. A liberal (in the European sense), he was actively involved in the opposition to Hitler and Nazism -- a fact that led to his execution shortly before the Reich's own collapse. The letters Helmuth James wrote from prison, to his wife most notably, but to others as well, are deeply moving, and filled with a Christian spirit that reminded me of St Paul's own epistles from prison.

Otto Friedrich is a tremendously skilled historian, and also an excellent writer. 'Blood and Iron' is well documented, logically presented, and also very readable. Plus, he's not afraid to share his opinions and interpretations, most particularly in 'A Note on Sources' following the close of the narrative. His insights there on other documents and histories are well worth reading. As, indeed, is this entire book. I recommend it very highly.

A recurrent feature of Hollywood war movies of the sixties and seventies was the "good German" - the anti-hero (often played by a Max Schell type, though James Mason as Rommel was another attempt) who, despite his allegiance, was essentially humane. Subsequent literature (e.g. Hitler's Willing Executioners) has largely exploded the myth that the Reich was riddled with conscientious objectors. Nevertheless, some Germans truly were on the side of the angels, and among them Helmuth James von Molke, who met his end in the aftermath of the briefcase bombing, was especially heroic. The last third of this book is devoted to his underground campaign to overthrow Hitler and establish a peaceful model for the future. The first subject of the book is his great-uncle, Helmuth von Molke of the Prussian General Staff, who masterminded Prussia's triumph over Denmark and then victory in the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars of the 1860s and 1870s. Despite his association with Prussian militarism, old von Moltke was driven by a firm sense of personal ethics, and for all the pain associated with his wars, at least they were brief. The same cannot be said for his nephew, the hapless Helmuth Johannes von Moltke, appointed Chief of the German General Staff in the lead up to World War One. Faced with the challenge of updating the already-flawed Schlieffen Plan, he actually managed to make it worse, dooming Germany, France, Belgium and Britain to four years of trench warfare. The von Moltkes are modern Prussia's most remarkable clan, and in the concluding chapter we are treated to a "Where Are They Now" of its surviving members.