"Bismarck was arguably the most important figure in nineteenth-century European history after 1815. In this new biography, Edgar Feuchtwanger reassesses Bismarck's significance as a historical figure. He traces his development from a typical Junker, a reactionary and conservative, into the white revolutionary who recast European affairs more drastically than anyone since Napoleon. Feuchtwanger's lucid account demythologizes the German leader without demonizing him. This book leaves the reader with a strongly-etched portrait of one of the decisive makers of the modern world."--Jacket.