West German Democracy, 1945-1990
Textbook Binding: 341, usually ships within 3-5 weeks. Amazon Review
Here is an authoritative account, by one of Britain's leading
Germanists, of the political history of the West German state from
its birth amid postwar devastation and defeat through to
reunification after the fall of the Soviet Empire, when she was once
again the leading power of continental Europe. It describes how
the new Germany was brought into being by the rapidly changing
political patterns of the Cold War; how it built a stable - in due
course formidable - economy in the face of overwhelming odds;
and how the hard-won triumph of Germany's new federal
democratic vision has itself contributed to the larger vision of a
federal, democratic Europe. It ends with a consideration of
whether the new reunified Germany can hold to the same goals
and certainties. The book is written from a firmly historical
perspective, at a judicious distance from the events it explores;
and the approach is via a broad analytical narrative rather than a
series of thematic investigations.