Harold Kurtz (1911–1972)

Cursory overview of the life and reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Provides interesting insights into the Kaiser's character -- and how his birth defects and the attitudes of his parents towards him affected his development. In this portrait, William comes across more sympathetically than I might have imagined...and his parents less so. (Friedrich in particular emerges as something of a weak man -- he was offered the crown of Prussia by his father, through abdication, as early as 1862,but declined. One wonders how the history of Europe -- and the world -- might have been changed, had Friedrich listened to his wife and accepted his father's offer.) I would have liked more about Wilhelm's home life -- the author intimates that he might have gotten more than he bargained for in marrying Augusta Victoria ("Dona") from the Augustenburg branch of the Schleswig-Holstein family, but no details are provided. On the whole, interesting and informative, but not in depth.… (mere)