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The Last Kaiser: A Biography of Wilhelm II, German Emperor & King of Prussia
The last A biography of Wilhelm II, German emperor and king of Tyler The last A biography of Wilhelm II, German emperor and king of Times FIRST First Edition, First Printing. Not price-clipped. Published by Times Books, 1977. Octavo. Hardcover. Book is very good with spotting on page ends. Dust jacket is very good with light shelf wear. 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Sag Harbor, New York.Seller 324927 Biography & Letters We Buy Books! Collections - Libraries - Estates - Individual Titles. Message us if you have books to sell!
- GenresNonfictionBiography
382 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 24, 2012
Tyler Whittle's sympathetic biography of Wilhelm II (1859-1941) is competently written, well-researched and referenced. Not much is expected of the reader in terms of historical background. The only chore is keeping track of all the royals related in one way or another to Queen Victoria and her grandson, Frederick William Victor Albert.
My only complaint is that the author gets a bit too precious about these royals and their grand lifestyles. While Wilhelm was apparently a decent enough chap given the circumstances, the disparities between the super-rich and ordinary people were, and are, obscene.
The reason I picked this book up at all, other than a general interest in German history, is because of curiosity. Wilhelm lived into WWII, but abdicated at the end of WWI. What happened to him? (A similar interest got me to read the autobiography of the USA's ambassador to Japan up until Pearl Harbor--what happened to him and all the other ambassadors of belligerent nations?)
My only complaint is that the author gets a bit too precious about these royals and their grand lifestyles. While Wilhelm was apparently a decent enough chap given the circumstances, the disparities between the super-rich and ordinary people were, and are, obscene.
The reason I picked this book up at all, other than a general interest in German history, is because of curiosity. Wilhelm lived into WWII, but abdicated at the end of WWI. What happened to him? (A similar interest got me to read the autobiography of the USA's ambassador to Japan up until Pearl Harbor--what happened to him and all the other ambassadors of belligerent nations?)
November 29, 2014
I still haven't finished the MacDonogh book, but I did finally make it through Tyler Whittle's The Last Kaiser. He was fairly sympathetic to Kaiser Wilhelm and showed him to be quite a complex character.
Some points I found interesting--
His mother, Vicky, didn't sound like an easy parent to have. She never ceased to consider herself British and looked down on the German court and culture as inferior to Victorian Britain. Wilhelm compensated by becoming very nationalistic. Her exceedingly high standards meant that she saw Wilhelm as never quite good enough.
His father was out of step with public opinion too, being too liberal for the prevailing political climate. Once again Wilhelm over-reacted against parental views.
The author did not say this, but as I read, I kept wondering how much of the Kaiser's life was shaped by his withered arm--he seemed to be overly concerned with being accepted, with a need to prove himself. I sometimes saw him as a child who never grew up.
There was quite a lot about his father's illness. He had cancerous growths on his vocal cords. Vicky insisted he be treated by a British doctor who felt an operation would kill him. There was a lot of dissension among the doctors and rivalry between the German and British doctors. (Reminded me of the infighting of the doctors caring for President Garfield that I read about in Destiny of the Republic.) While there were plenty of political reasons for the growing antipathies of Germany and Britain, this certainly didn't help. Meanwhile, his father suffered and died a painful death.
Wilhelm II was more of a social reformer than I'd imagined. Apparently he was a great admirer of Theodore Roosevelt, with whom he had much in common. The author said that they both "killed mosquitoes as though they were lions" and that they both "wanted to put an end to all evil in the world between sunrise and sunset." That really gave me a sense of the Kaiser's personality.
I got the impression that his ministers/politicians did quite a lot behind his back, deliberately keeping him in the dark. His eldest son also caused him a lot of political problems.
Although he had difficult relationships with his parents (especially his mother), it sounds like family meant a great deal to him. He was very close to Tsar Nicholas as offered him and his family asylum. He was also very friendly with George V.
He was a big fan of PG Wodehouse's writing.
I'm looking forward to finishing the MacDonogh book to see how his portrait of Wilhelm compares.
Both books have been difficult reads for me because there's been so much detailed German history with which I'm unfamiliar. I'm hoping that I'll have a better grasp of it all by the time I make it through the second book.
Some points I found interesting--
His mother, Vicky, didn't sound like an easy parent to have. She never ceased to consider herself British and looked down on the German court and culture as inferior to Victorian Britain. Wilhelm compensated by becoming very nationalistic. Her exceedingly high standards meant that she saw Wilhelm as never quite good enough.
His father was out of step with public opinion too, being too liberal for the prevailing political climate. Once again Wilhelm over-reacted against parental views.
The author did not say this, but as I read, I kept wondering how much of the Kaiser's life was shaped by his withered arm--he seemed to be overly concerned with being accepted, with a need to prove himself. I sometimes saw him as a child who never grew up.
There was quite a lot about his father's illness. He had cancerous growths on his vocal cords. Vicky insisted he be treated by a British doctor who felt an operation would kill him. There was a lot of dissension among the doctors and rivalry between the German and British doctors. (Reminded me of the infighting of the doctors caring for President Garfield that I read about in Destiny of the Republic.) While there were plenty of political reasons for the growing antipathies of Germany and Britain, this certainly didn't help. Meanwhile, his father suffered and died a painful death.
Wilhelm II was more of a social reformer than I'd imagined. Apparently he was a great admirer of Theodore Roosevelt, with whom he had much in common. The author said that they both "killed mosquitoes as though they were lions" and that they both "wanted to put an end to all evil in the world between sunrise and sunset." That really gave me a sense of the Kaiser's personality.
I got the impression that his ministers/politicians did quite a lot behind his back, deliberately keeping him in the dark. His eldest son also caused him a lot of political problems.
Although he had difficult relationships with his parents (especially his mother), it sounds like family meant a great deal to him. He was very close to Tsar Nicholas as offered him and his family asylum. He was also very friendly with George V.
He was a big fan of PG Wodehouse's writing.
I'm looking forward to finishing the MacDonogh book to see how his portrait of Wilhelm compares.
Both books have been difficult reads for me because there's been so much detailed German history with which I'm unfamiliar. I'm hoping that I'll have a better grasp of it all by the time I make it through the second book.
January 17, 2024
My Amazon review on January 14, 2018: Out-of-print, but a serviceable bio of William II
Not often you get to be the first (and maybe only) one to review a book! This is very likely out of print and I picked it up used. As a follow-up to my recent completion of 'Bismarck: A Life' it seemed like a decent segue. Anyway this was a pretty good bio in my opinion, not withstanding a few rather bizarre assertions. The caricature of the Kasier in most history books (or at least in 'popular' opinion) is pretty well set in stone. Warmonger is perhaps chief among the characterizations of Wilhelm (William), yet the truth is actually quite at variance with that long-held perception. Fake new is nothing new! In fact, the propaganda of the First World War and its aftermath was extreme and attention to truth and balance was mostly nonexistent or distorted and of course the 'winners' write the history. According this bio, the Kaiser genuinely did not want war, especially the dreaded 2-front war, which is of course exactly what happened. The interplay of the Royal families and nascent nationalism in Europe has got to be one of the most bizarre periods of history. How much power did these autocrats really have or were they just figureheads? The answer varied considerably by country of course. Anyway, the Kaiser comes off as a fairly complicated and not unlikable man with his share of strengths and weaknesses. He overcame a very difficult birth disability at great sacrifice, became Kaiser at least 10 years too early for his own (or Germany's) good and was really caught in profound international currents not of his own making. The early and tragic death of his father was a watershed in European and German history and another of the great 'what-ifs'. For opponents of that time and later detractors there is enough in a a few of William's speeches and actions to condemn him which they certainly used. Countervailing evidence and other speeches suggest a much more balanced interpretation is a far more accurate picture and this the book tried and mostly succeeded in portraying. I struggled with 3 or 4 stars on this one. If you were going to read only 1 bio of Kaiser William II, perhaps you could do better but this is a pretty solid effort and of reasonable length.
3 people found this helpful
Not often you get to be the first (and maybe only) one to review a book! This is very likely out of print and I picked it up used. As a follow-up to my recent completion of 'Bismarck: A Life' it seemed like a decent segue. Anyway this was a pretty good bio in my opinion, not withstanding a few rather bizarre assertions. The caricature of the Kasier in most history books (or at least in 'popular' opinion) is pretty well set in stone. Warmonger is perhaps chief among the characterizations of Wilhelm (William), yet the truth is actually quite at variance with that long-held perception. Fake new is nothing new! In fact, the propaganda of the First World War and its aftermath was extreme and attention to truth and balance was mostly nonexistent or distorted and of course the 'winners' write the history. According this bio, the Kaiser genuinely did not want war, especially the dreaded 2-front war, which is of course exactly what happened. The interplay of the Royal families and nascent nationalism in Europe has got to be one of the most bizarre periods of history. How much power did these autocrats really have or were they just figureheads? The answer varied considerably by country of course. Anyway, the Kaiser comes off as a fairly complicated and not unlikable man with his share of strengths and weaknesses. He overcame a very difficult birth disability at great sacrifice, became Kaiser at least 10 years too early for his own (or Germany's) good and was really caught in profound international currents not of his own making. The early and tragic death of his father was a watershed in European and German history and another of the great 'what-ifs'. For opponents of that time and later detractors there is enough in a a few of William's speeches and actions to condemn him which they certainly used. Countervailing evidence and other speeches suggest a much more balanced interpretation is a far more accurate picture and this the book tried and mostly succeeded in portraying. I struggled with 3 or 4 stars on this one. If you were going to read only 1 bio of Kaiser William II, perhaps you could do better but this is a pretty solid effort and of reasonable length.
3 people found this helpful
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews