The brilliant overall portrayal of the German Empire and the path to the First World War. In his updated classic, Volker Ullrich reveals the contradictions and ambivalences of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, particularly the coexistence of persistence and modernity. This mixture gave rise to a nervous irritability characteristic of Wilhelmine mentality, which was a significant reason why the imperial leadership took the reckless risk of a world war in 1914. The new edition has been expanded with a current afterword featuring the latest literature on the Empire.