One of A.J.P. Taylor's best-known books, The Course of German History is a notor
iously idiosyncratic work. Composed in his famously witty style, yet succinct to
the point of sharpness, this is one of the great historian's finest, if more co
ntroversial, accomplishments.
As Taylor himself noted, 'the history of the Ge
rmans is a history of extremes. It contains everything except moderation.' He co
uld, of course, simply be referring to his own book.
