商品簡介
In spring 1875, otherwise a rare calm in international relations, France took initial baby steps to rebuild her military from the devastation of 1870. Otto von Bismarck, Germany's Iron Chancellor, pronounced the new law proof that France was preparing a war of revenge, and his military adviser called for a pre-emptive strike in order to save German lives. Headlines blared across the continent, stockmarkets plummeted, and the governments of Britain and Russia gave stern warning to leave France alone. Bismarck was shocked to learn of the furor, insisting that peace was never in jeopardy; perhaps he had garbled words around the unmelted butter in his mouth. Stockmarkets resumed their exuberance and newspapers their domestic scandals. Stone explores what that was all about, looking at the political context, emerging threats and initial responses, manufacturing the crisis, defeat and aftermath, and whether German foreign policy continued or changed in 1875-77. The study is slightly modified from his doctoral dissertation for the University of Marburg; no date is noted. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
