This final volume of John Röhl's acclaimed biography of Kaiser Wilhelm II reveals the Kaiser's central role in the origins of the First World War. The book examines the Kaiser's part in the Boer War, the Russo-Japanese War, the naval arms race with Britain and Germany's rivalry with the United States as well as in the crises over Morocco, Bosnia and Agadir. It also sheds new light on the public scandals which accompanied his reign from the allegations of homosexuality made against his intimate friends to the Daily Telegraph Affair. Above all, John Röhl scrutinises the mounting tension between Germany and Britain and the increasing pressure the Kaiser exerted on his Austro-Hungarian ally from 1912 onwards to resolve the Serbian problem. Following Germany's defeat and Wilhelm's enforced abdication, he charts the Kaiser's bitter experience of exile in Holland and his frustrated hopes that Hitler would restore him to the throne.

'A masterpiece and one of the greatest political biographies of our times.'

Simon Sebag Montefiore Source: The Times

'The single most important recent contribution to the debate on the causes of the First World War.'

Source: BBC History Magazine

'One of the outstanding biographies of the past twenty years.'

Philip Mansel Source: The Spectator

'A powerful and impressive thesis.'

Jonathan Sperber Source: The Times Literary Supplement

'Devastating.'

Norman Stone Source: Literary Review

'Magisterial is the only word that adequately describes Röhl's final installment of his authoritative biography of Kaiser Wilhelm II. This massive tome examines in a most engaging way the personal role the Kaiser played in facilitating the major political and diplomatic crises leading to the Great War … Highly recommended.'

M. A. Mengerink Source: Choice

'Reviewers of Röhl’s work will find it difficult to avoid echoing each other: adjectives such as ‘monumental’ and ‘definitive’ are well-nigh inescapable in the face of this enormous achievement … Future researchers with an interest in any aspect of the Kaiser’s life or his role in the government of Imperial Germany will find Röhl an indispensable guide to the documentary record.'

Andrew G. Bonnell Source: European History Quarterly

'This book is the final instalment of John Röhl’s exhaustive and magisterial three-volume biography of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Like the two preceding parts, this volume is meticulously researched, full of new insights, beautifully written and, notwithstanding its great length and substantial weight, difficult to put down. Taken either on its own or as the culmination of a trilogy, it is a monumental achievement…This is an outstanding work. So much new research and scholarship has gone into completing it that it is difficult to imagine what other new documents might be out there waiting to be unearthed that would materially add to what Röhl has written. Equally, with this volume and its two predecessors in the public domain it is hard to see why anyone else would attempt a new study of Wilhelm II. While no work of history ever has the final word, surely this is as close to definitive as a biography can get.'

Matthew S. Seligmann Source: The English Historical Review

'Scholars of the period owe a great debt to Röhl. Whether, in the final analysis, one agrees with his reading of Wilhelm, Röhl has redirected attention to the importance of human agency in history. In tandem, he has also liberated his subject both from being a caricature, a cardboard cutout knave, and from the less-than-benign neglect of those with structuralist predilections.'

T. G. Otte Source: The Journal of Modern History