Book Recommendation: King, Kaiser, Tsar

[Peter_Suciu]

I may have recommended this before the site was corrupted, but here goes again. I have to give a huge thumbs up to the book King, Kaiser, Tsar, which looks at the lives of (as the title suggests) King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II and their lives leading up to World War I.

Much of this information has been discussed previously but author Catrine Clay really goes into some excellent detail. This is because she had access to the private access to the letters of these men, as well as the diaries of George V. This gives some fascintating insight into the various royals. Queen Elizabeth II was kind enough to share this information, along with other writings from the Royal Collection.

Some of the information is really interesting. I knew that Willy had an interest in all things naval, but I didn't really know that when he visited his grandmother, Queen Victoria II, it was suggested to get him interested in something that wasn't considered "Prussian militarism" that he was given a tour of some British warships and then sent a model to build. This inspired the future Kaiser to dream of a navy... which of course was the last thing England wanted! The irony!

 

[Raiseth]

I have to agree. This is an awsesome book. It not only details historical diplomatic intrigue but it shows the relationship between the Royal families. The Royal Houses of europe were a really dysfunctional bunch with petty feuds and slights against each other. I highly recommend this book also.

Bill

 

[Liongules]

I haven't read this one, I'll have to get it. If I may, I'd like to highly recommend The Last Kaiser: The Life of Wilhelm II by Giles MacDonogh. I found it a totally fascinating read and was surprised to learn how some things I'd believed all my life were actually remnants of anti-Wilhelm propaganda.