Christopher Clark (1) (1960–)
Author of The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914
For other authors named Christopher Clark, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Christopher Clark is the Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge. His books include The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 and Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Life in Power.
Works by Christopher Clark
Revolutionary Spring : Europe Aflame and the Fight for a New World, 1848-1849 (2023) 284 copies, 3 reviews
Time and Power: Visions of History in German Politics, from the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich (2018) 83 copies
The Spark in the Tinderbox 1 copy
Associated Works
Galípoli, 1915 (Desperta Ferro Contemporánea 8) — Contributor — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Clark, Christopher
- Legal name
- Clark, Christopher Munro
- Birthdate
- 1960-03-14
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Australia
- Birthplace
- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Places of residence
- West Berlin, Germany
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK - Education
- Pembroke College, University of Cambridge (Ph.D|1991)
Freie Universität Berlin
University of Sydney (BA)
Sydney Grammar School - Occupations
- historian
Professor of Modern European History, University of Cambridge - Relationships
- Lübbren, Nina (wife)
- Organizations
- Australian Academy of the Humanities (Fellow)
- Awards and honors
- Wolfson History Prize (2007)
Knight Bachelor (2015)
Officer's Cross, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2010)
Deutscher Historikerpreis (2010)
Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts (2019)
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (2013) (show all 12)
Preis des Historischen Kollegs
Laura Shannon Prize (2015)
European Prize for Political Culture (2018)
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards (2007)
H-Soz-u-Kult prize (2007)
Fellow, St Catharine's College, Cambridge University (1991) - Short biography
- Christopher Clark's research interests are centred on the history of nineteenth-century Germany and continental Europe. His early work focused on the political and cultural history of religion. His first book was a study of the relationship between Christians and the Jewish minority in Prussia between 1728 and 1941; here he explored the ways in which contemporary understandings of Christianity shaped successive mutations of the 'Jewish Question'. Since then he has published various articles and essays on related subjects - some of them examine the trouble that results when the state authority takes the initiative in religious questions, others look at the ways in which questions of religious allegiance were implicated in processes of political and cultural change. In 2004 he co-edited, with Wolfram Kaiser of the University of Portsmouth, an edited volume about the 'culture war' between Catholic and secular social forces that polarised so many European states in the years 1850-1890. In the meanwhile, he has published a study of Kaiser Wilhelm II (2000) for the Longmans/Pearson series Profiles in Power and completed a general history of Prussia for Penguin, due out in spring 2006. He is currently working on a study of political change across Europe in the aftermath of the 1848 revolutions.
Research Supervision
Chris Clark has supervised doctoral and M.Phil projects on a wide range of subjects in nineteenth and twentieth-century German and comparative history. Successful Ph.D candidates have worked on the role of trial lawyers in Weimar political trials and the evolution of the concept of 'resistance' in early post-war Germany (1945-1954). His current doctoral students are working on monarchical governance in mid-nineteenth-century Hanover, and a comparative study of accident insurance policy in late-nineteenth-century Germany, Italy and Britain.
Teaching
Professor Clark has taught final-year undergraduate courses on German History, co-teaches a Themes & Sources Paper (with Professor Blanning) on Music and Society and contributes to the core lectures for the Modern European element (Papers 17 and 18) in part One. He also contributes to the M.Phil in European History, both as an option provider and as M.Phil Secretary. He is one of the convenors of the seminar in Modern European History.
Key Publications
The Politics of Conversion. Missionary Protestantism and the Jews in Prussia 1728-1941 (Oxford, 1995).
Kaiser Wilhelm II (Harlow, 2000)
Culture Wars. Catholic-Secular Conflict in Nineteenth-Century Europe (Cambridge, 2004) (co-edited with Professor Wolfram Kaiser)
'The Napoleonic Moment in Prussian Church Policy' in D. Laven and L. Riall (eds.), The Napoleonic Legacy (Oxford, 2000), pp. 217-236.
'The 'Christian State' and the 'Jewish Citizen' in nineteenth-Century Prussia', in H. Walser-Smith (ed), Confessional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century Germany (Oxford, 2001), pp. 32-54
'The Limits of the Confessional State: Conversions to Judaism in Prussia 1817-1843', Past & Present 147 (May 1995), pp. 159-79.
'The Wars of Liberation in Prussian Memory: Reflections on the Memorialization of War in Early Nineteenth-Century Germany', Journal of Modern History (September 1996), pp. 550-76.
'Die europäischen Kulturkämpfe und der neue Katholizismus', Comparativ 12 (2002)
Paul Celan and Nelly Sachs, Correspondence (New York, 1995), 109 pp. (translation)
http://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/directory/c...
Members
Reviews
Lists
THE WAR ROOM (1)
2021 Long Reads (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 12
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 4,055
- Popularity
- #6,208
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 87
- ISBNs
- 145
- Languages
- 12
- Favorited
- 4
If you want to read “The Guns of August,” read “The Sleepwalkers” first. The book’s title is excellent, and Christopher Clark’s narrative is a masterpiece. My mistake has been collecting Kindle editions of books on World War I when I was out to have print versions of all of them.
The events in Europe at the turn of the 19th century were complex, so I suggest reading print versions of books on the subject: you can flip back and forth to refresh your understanding of the events and the people.
Christopher Clark divided the events into separate sections, starting with Sarajevo and Serbia. When I read the first chapters, I wondered about their relevance to the outbreak of the war. After you progress through the book, study the shifting alliances, and understand the fears, ambitions, prejudices, and personal ambitions of the men leading European countries at the time, do you start to gain the faintest glimmer of understanding of why the war broke out and mushroomed into ‘The Great War.’
I could not spot one specific factor, even though many blame it on the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. As Christopher Clark wrote, the war did not explode as soon as Gavrilo Princep pulled the trigger. Leaders in different countries tried to prevent conflict and watched each other’s maneuvers with suspicion and dread.
Political and military leadership in each country pulled away from each other, each becoming locked in their strategic posturing. And Europe sleepwalked into ‘The Great War.’
The events of the time were complex, and Christopher Clark’s treatment was masterly. He struck a delicate balance between narrative and analysis: one without the other is incomplete.
If you are starting to study the origins of World War I, buy this book, but buy a paperback or hardcover edition. The Kindle edition is excellent, but you must purchase the paperback/hardcover edition to study World War I.
Christopher Clark’s book is a masterpiece. Once you start reading the book, you won’t stop until you reach the end. Have a pencil and sticky tabs close at hand when you read this excellent book.… (more)