Winner of the Lionel Trilling Award Nominated for the National Book Award "A major contribution to our understanding of some of the great themes of modern European history--the relations between Jews and Germans, between economics and politics, between banking and diplomacy." --James Joll, The New York Times Book Review "I cannot praise this book too highly. It is a work of original scholarship, both exact and profound. It restores a buried chapter of history and penetrates, with insight and understanding, one of the most disturbing historical problems of modern times." --Hugh J. Trevor-Roper, London Sunday Times "[An] extraordinary book, an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Germany in the second half of the nineteenth century." --Stanley Hoffman, Washington Post Book World "One of the most important historical works of the past few decades." --Golo Mann "In many ways this book resembles the great nineteenth-century novels." --The Economist