The Defortification of the German City, 1689-1866

Yair Mintzker is Assistant Professor of European History at Princeton University. His PhD dissertation won the Elizabeth Spilman Rosenfield Prize of Stanford's Department of History in 2009 and the Friends of the German Historical Institute's Fritz Stern Dissertation Prize in 2010. His articles have been published in History of European Ideas and Reflexions historiques.

'The title of [this] book is far too modest. Taking the demolition of the old city walls as pars pro toto for the destruction of the old body politic, Yair Mintzker offers an absolutely fascinating new insight into the transformations that led to modern society. His book is a genuine masterpiece of political history after the cultural turn: sophisticated, keen-witted, and a pleasure to read.' Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger, University of Muenster

• Part I. Beginnings, 1689–1789: 1. The city and its walls; 2. The French model and the German case, 1689–1789; Part II. A Perfect Storm, 1791–1815: 3. The great defortification surge, 1791–1815; 4. The road to Lunéville, 1791–1801; 5. Collapse, 1801–15; Part III. After the Deluge, 1815–66: 6. Restoration's boundaries: fortress, hometown, metropolis, 1815–48; 7. A modern city, 1848–66.