The Arms of Krupp

"A colorful, extremely readable account. . . . To be the biographer of Krupp is to write the history of modern Germany." —New York Times Book Review

In this narrative of extraordinary richness, depth, and authority, America's preeminent biographer/historian explores the German national character as no other writer has done. The Arms of Krupp brings to life Europe's wealthiest, most powerful family, a four-hundred-year German dynasty that developed the world's most technologically advanced weapons, from cannons to submarines to anti-aircraft guns; provided arms to generations of German leaders, including the Kaiser and Hitler; operated private concentration camps during the Nazi era; survived conviction at Nuremberg; and wielded enormous influence on the course of world events.

History professor William Manchester's galvanizing account of the rise and fall of the Krupp dynasty is history as it should be written—alive with all its terrifying power.

"Trying to cope with the complex history of one of the world's richest and strangest families, Manchester inevitably circles back to the origins of the German nation and finally weaves into his narrative much of the history of Germany from 1870 to the present. . . . A largely fascinating chronicle." —Time

"In a way the Krupp story is that of German nationalism: a failure to appreciate that there are some things that must not be done for one's country. . . . One wonders whether countries do not get the capitalists they deserve." —Washington Post Book World