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Europe, 1815-1914
A view of Europe during the years 1815 to 1914.
502 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1972
About the author
Gordon A. Craig
54 books19 followersBorn in Glasgow, Gordon Craig emigrated with his family in 1925, initially to Toronto, Canada, and then to Jersey City, New Jersey. Initially interested in studying the law, he switched to history after hearing the historian Walter "Buzzer" Hall lecture at Princeton University. In 1935, Craig visited and lived for several months in Germany, to research a thesis he was writing on the downfall of the Weimar Republic. This trip marked the beginning of lifelong interest with all things German. Craig did not enjoy the atmosphere of Nazi Germany, and throughout his life, he sought to find the answer to the question of how a people who, in his opinion, had made a disproportionately large contribution to Western civilization, allowed themselves to become entangled in what Craig saw as the corrupting embrace of Nazism.
Of Adolf Hitler, Craig once wrote,
"Adolf Hitler was sui generis, a force without a real historical past... dedicated to the acquisition of power for his own gratification and to the destruction of a people whose existence was an offense to him and whose annihilation would be his crowning triumph. Both the grandiose barbarism of his political vision and the moral emptiness of his character make it impossible to compare him in any meaningful way with any other German leader. He stands alone"
Craig graduated in history from Princeton University, was a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, from 1936 to 1938, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a captain and in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. In 1941, he co-edited with Edward Mead Earle and Felix Gilbert, on behalf of the American War Department, the book Makers of Modern Strategy: Military Thought From Machiavelli to Hitler, which was intended to serve as a guide to strategic thinking for military leaders during the war.
After 1945, Craig worked as a consultant to the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, the State Department, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the Historical Division of the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a professor at Princeton University from 1950–61 and at Stanford University from 1961-79. In 1956-1957, he taught at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. In addition, he often held visiting professorships at the Free University of Berlin; in 1967, Craig was the only professor there to sign a petition asking for an investigation into charges of police brutality towards protesting students. Craig was chair of the history department at Stanford in 1972-1975 and 1978-1979. Between 1975-1985, he served as the vice-president of the Comité International des Sciences Historiques. In 1979, he became an emeritus professor and was awarded the title J. E. Wallace Sterling Professor of Humanities.
During his time at Stanford, Craig was considered to be a popular and innovative teacher who improved both undergraduate and graduate teaching, while remaining well liked by the students. After his retirement, he worked as a book reviewer for the New York Review of Books. Some of his reviews attracted controversy, most notably in April 1996, when he praised Daniel Goldhagen's book Hitler's Willing Executioners and later in September of the same year when he argued that David Irving's work was valuable because of what Craig saw as Irving's devil's advocate role. Craig argued that Irving was usually wrong, but that by promoting what Craig saw as a twisted and wrongheaded view of history with a great deal of élan, Irving forced other historians to fruitfully examine their beliefs about what is known about the Third Reich.
Craig was formerly President of the American Historical Association. In 1953, together with his friend Felix Gilbert, he edited a prosopography of inter-war diplomats entitled The Diplomats, an important source for diplomatic history in the interwar period. He followed this book with studies on the Prussian Army, the Battle of Königgrätz and many aspects of European and Ger
Of Adolf Hitler, Craig once wrote,
"Adolf Hitler was sui generis, a force without a real historical past... dedicated to the acquisition of power for his own gratification and to the destruction of a people whose existence was an offense to him and whose annihilation would be his crowning triumph. Both the grandiose barbarism of his political vision and the moral emptiness of his character make it impossible to compare him in any meaningful way with any other German leader. He stands alone"
Craig graduated in history from Princeton University, was a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, from 1936 to 1938, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a captain and in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. In 1941, he co-edited with Edward Mead Earle and Felix Gilbert, on behalf of the American War Department, the book Makers of Modern Strategy: Military Thought From Machiavelli to Hitler, which was intended to serve as a guide to strategic thinking for military leaders during the war.
After 1945, Craig worked as a consultant to the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, the State Department, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the Historical Division of the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a professor at Princeton University from 1950–61 and at Stanford University from 1961-79. In 1956-1957, he taught at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. In addition, he often held visiting professorships at the Free University of Berlin; in 1967, Craig was the only professor there to sign a petition asking for an investigation into charges of police brutality towards protesting students. Craig was chair of the history department at Stanford in 1972-1975 and 1978-1979. Between 1975-1985, he served as the vice-president of the Comité International des Sciences Historiques. In 1979, he became an emeritus professor and was awarded the title J. E. Wallace Sterling Professor of Humanities.
During his time at Stanford, Craig was considered to be a popular and innovative teacher who improved both undergraduate and graduate teaching, while remaining well liked by the students. After his retirement, he worked as a book reviewer for the New York Review of Books. Some of his reviews attracted controversy, most notably in April 1996, when he praised Daniel Goldhagen's book Hitler's Willing Executioners and later in September of the same year when he argued that David Irving's work was valuable because of what Craig saw as Irving's devil's advocate role. Craig argued that Irving was usually wrong, but that by promoting what Craig saw as a twisted and wrongheaded view of history with a great deal of élan, Irving forced other historians to fruitfully examine their beliefs about what is known about the Third Reich.
Craig was formerly President of the American Historical Association. In 1953, together with his friend Felix Gilbert, he edited a prosopography of inter-war diplomats entitled The Diplomats, an important source for diplomatic history in the interwar period. He followed this book with studies on the Prussian Army, the Battle of Königgrätz and many aspects of European and Ger
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 30, 2010
"Europe, 1815-1914" is a college level textbook and is very well written. Unlike some other non-committal dry texts the author is not afraid to render his opinions on major events and personalities and backs up his conclusions with facts. There is also an excellent bibliography at the end. Gordon A. Craig (1913-2005) was a renowned Scottish-American historian who specialized in Germany and I have three other books by him.
January 20, 2010
One of the best introductory texts on the history of Europe from the Congress of Vienna (the peace settlement from the Napoleonic Wars) to World War I.
February 24, 2013
Fantastic, concise history of Europe - one of the best I've ever read....
November 7, 2014
This is a textbook, not a usual item for book lovers, but if you are as engrossed by history as I am, no details go unappreciated. So, with a warning that there is density between the two covers, I highly recommend Gordon Craig's work.
The 19th century was a period of profound change in Europe. Industry driven by capitalism replaced agriculture, liberation came to serfs and slaves, population flooded to the cities. The wonders of applied science exploited by capitalism closed the door behind as modernity was entered. Empowerment of the individual spread from the top down, demands for democracy threatening the rights of royalty as border blind socialism competed with emerging, then triumphant, nationalism. Society was in turmoil even as the great powers attempted (more successfully than not) to avoid another conflagration of the continent as had occurred during the period when Napoleon had ruled France.
Looking at Russia, Great Britain, France, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Prussia/Germany and Italy in equal detail, no aspect of society is left un-examined. Most interesting to me is the account of the spread of socialism and the contest between those who, following Marx, expected violent revolution, and the revisionists who desired to work within the existing political systems to better the status of the working class. The roots of problems that would explode in the 20th century are clearly identified.
This book is a meaty treat with excellent overviews that precede each section, overviews that can be quickly re-read as a refresher. Part of a series, the "Berkshire Studies in European History", this work inspires me to read more of the 19 volumes listed on the back cover. Europe, 1815 - 1914 is not a dry, dull outline written by committee as textbooks too often are. It snaps and pops.
The 19th century was a period of profound change in Europe. Industry driven by capitalism replaced agriculture, liberation came to serfs and slaves, population flooded to the cities. The wonders of applied science exploited by capitalism closed the door behind as modernity was entered. Empowerment of the individual spread from the top down, demands for democracy threatening the rights of royalty as border blind socialism competed with emerging, then triumphant, nationalism. Society was in turmoil even as the great powers attempted (more successfully than not) to avoid another conflagration of the continent as had occurred during the period when Napoleon had ruled France.
Looking at Russia, Great Britain, France, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Prussia/Germany and Italy in equal detail, no aspect of society is left un-examined. Most interesting to me is the account of the spread of socialism and the contest between those who, following Marx, expected violent revolution, and the revisionists who desired to work within the existing political systems to better the status of the working class. The roots of problems that would explode in the 20th century are clearly identified.
This book is a meaty treat with excellent overviews that precede each section, overviews that can be quickly re-read as a refresher. Part of a series, the "Berkshire Studies in European History", this work inspires me to read more of the 19 volumes listed on the back cover. Europe, 1815 - 1914 is not a dry, dull outline written by committee as textbooks too often are. It snaps and pops.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews