Wilhelm II and the Germans : a study in leadership

Summary: This striking biography of Kaiser Wilhelm II is the most penetrating study to date of his development and personality, as well as an important contribution to our understanding of the crucial period in history that bears his name, 'Wilhelmine Germany'. A skilful, psychoanalytically informed analysis of the Kaiser's character, the book shows how the powerful leader of Germany's 'Second Reich' became the slave of public opinion - restless, impulsive, and easily swayed by flattery or by those with stronger wills. It reveals a man both anxiously insecure and brashly arrogant, flamboyant and confident in public, yet vacillating and ineffective in his political decisions. Despite his political ineptitude, however, Wilhelm II was one of the most successful and beloved symbolic leaders of modern times. Professor Kohut argues that, in this nationalistic age, the new German nation wanted to see itself as it saw its Kaiser - strong, self-assured, and surrounded by pomp and splendour.

Record details

ISBN: 1601297513
ISBN: 9781601297518
ISBN: 6610524386
ISBN: 9786610524389
ISBN: 9781280524387
ISBN: 1280524383
ISBN: 0195061721
ISBN: 9780195061727
ISBN: 9780195362893
ISBN: 0195362896
ISBN: 9781423737216
ISBN: 1423737210
Physical Description: 1 online resource (ix, 331 pages) : illustrations
remote
Publisher: New York : Oxford University Press, 1991.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-320) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Introduction; 1. The Tragedy of Friedrich and Victoria; 2. The Legacy of Maternal Worry and Disappointment; 3. The Legacy of Maternal Possessiveness; 4. The Legacy of Paternal Weakness and Neglect; 5. Wilhelm II and His Parents; 6. The Kaiser, the Press, and Public Opinion; 7. On the Imperial Stage; 8. Personal Symbol of the Nation; 9. The Kaiser, the Navy, and Weltpolitik; 10. Between the British and the Germans; Conclusion; Appendixes; Notes; Index
Restrictions on Access Note:	NLC staff and students only.
Source of Description Note:	Print version record.