Frederick the Great

Piet and soldier, misanthrope and philospher, Frederick the Great was a contradictory, almost unfathomable man. His conquests made him one of the most formindable and feared leaders of his era. But as a patron of artists and intellectuals, Frederick re-created Berlin as one of the continent's great cities, matching his state's reputation for military ferocity with one for cultural achievement.

Though history remembers Frederick as a "Potsdam Fuhrer," his father more rightly deserved the title. When, as a youth, Frederick attempted to flee the elder man's brutality, the punishment was to watch the execution of his friend and co-conspirator, Katte. Though a subsequent compromise allowed Frederick to take the throne in 1740, he would remain true unto himself. His tastes for music, poetry, and architecture would match the significance of his military triumphs in the Seven Years' War.

Drawing on the most recent scholarship, Giles MacDonogh's fresh, authoritative biograhy gives us the most fully rounded portrait yet of an often misunderstood king.

Free thinker, misanthrope, poet, philosopher, lawmaker, and soldier, Frederick the Great was a contradictory, almost unfathomable, man. His conquests made him one of the most formidable and feared leaders of his era. But the king's other-often ignored-accomplishments rank him among the ablest statesmen in modern European history. A patron of artists and intellectuals, Frederick re-created Berlin as one of the continent's great capital cities, reformed Prussia's legal system, and strove to match his state's reputation for military ferocity with one for cultural achievement.

Though history remembers Frederick as a "Potsdam Führer," his father, King Frederick William, the true architect of Prussian militarism, more rightly earned the title. When, as a youth, Frederick attempted to flee the elder man's brutality and anti-intellectualism, his father had him imprisoned and tried, then forced him to watch the execution of his friend and co-conspirator, Katte. Though a subsequent compromise between king and prince allowed Frederick to take the throne in 1740, he would remain true unto himself: his tastes for music, poetry, and architecture would match the significance of his military triumphs in the Seven Years' War.

Drawing on the most recent scholarship, Giles MacDonogh's fresh, authoritative biography gives us the most fully rounded portrait yet of an often misunderstood king.

Evening Standard

Immaculately researched and beautifully written...In an extended and lavish account, MacDonogh bringsus close to the smell of eighteenth-century battle.

Giles MacDonogh was born in London in 1955 and studied history at Oxford University. He has worked extensively in France as a teacher, a translator, a journalist, and an editor. After returning to England, he became increasingly well known as a gastronomic critic and authority on wine and spirits. For the last ten years, however, his consuming interest has been modern German history, and he has published several books on the subject. He has a regular column in the Financial Times and has written for many other papers and magazines. MacDonogh lives in London.