Page:American Historical Review, Volume 12.djvu/391

Zwiedi7icck-Siidenhorst : Deutsche Geschichte 381 be found anywhere more lucid statements of the political and diplomatic situations or of the military operations. These are great merits; but there are also serious defects. Apart from the confessed and almost unavoidable defect in objec- tivity, many students will find the book fundamentally unsatisfactory because of the limited point of view and range of interest represented. The narrative is practically a purely political and military one and, even when taken in connection with the earlier volumes, is marked by a neglect of non-political aspects and of mass-elements and developments in general that betrays a close adherence to methods now somewhat dis- credited. Of this of course we were warned in Zwiedineck-Siiden- horst's preface to his first volume; but the intervening years have only increased the objections to this manner of presenting history. Even when the author deals with the Zollverein (in his second volume as in this), he does so mainly from the diplomatic point of view. This volume gives no attention to economic development; practically none is given to literature or the press, to religion or art. Educational condi- tions are not mentioned, and there seems to be an entire unconsciousness of the claims to investigation or presentation of public spirit or opinion even from the purely political point of view. If the book mentions Lassalle, the reviewer has not noticed it. It is clear that Zwiedineck- Siidenhorst is interested only in the crises, the moments of the accelera- tion or explosion of historical forces, and only in the individuals who take leadership at such moments ; interested in them as individuals, as standing on their own feet and through individual power controlling or modifying events. It is in accord with this line of treatment that so little space (practically only pp. 158-166) is given to the comparatively uneventful years 1851-1859; it is clear however that even from the personal and political point of view this is inadequate. That all this indicates a determined adherence to the point of view of the preface of ten years ago is shown in the declaration (p. 371") that Die Zeit vom 4. bis 26. Juli [1866] ist reicher an diplomatischen Verwickelungen und Szenenwechseln als irgend cine Epoche der Geschichte Europas und sie ist vor allem dadurch bemerkenswert geworden, dass ihre Ereignisse fast ausschliesslich in den Charakteren der handelnden Personen ihre Begrundung finden, dass Individualitaten und nicht Kollektivkrafte dabei ausschlaggebend geworden sind. Historical students who find themselves involved in the complexities and obscurities of mass-factors can only envy the capacity at this day of proceeding upon such comfortable convictions. The defects of this work will appear the more strongly when it is compared with the recent book by Denis on precisely the same period. The volumes naturally suggest comparison with respect to methods and points of view (especially as the element of nationality enters), and it will perhaps be not amiss for the reviewer to devote himself mainly to these aspects. M. Denis is also an academic historian and a prolific