Cover -- Contents -- Introduction -- The British Model and the German Road: Rethinking the Course of German History Before 1914 -- I. Basic Assumptions of German Historiography -- II. German Historians and the Problem of Bourgeois Revolution -- III. Theoretical Bearings: The British Societal Model -- IV. Bourgeoisie-Liberalism-Democracy: Some Necessary Distinctions -- V. Backward State/Modern Economy: Unscrambling the German Couplet -- VI. Possibilities of Reform in Britain and Germany -- VII. The Realpolitik of the Bourgeoisie and the Redundancy of Liberalism -- VIII. Defining the State in Imperial Germany -- IX. Some Provisional Conclusions -- The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie: Reappraising German History in the Nineteenth Century -- I. German Peculiarities -- 1. The Arguments -- 2. The Role of the Bourgeoisie: A General Perspective -- II. Economy and Society: A Silent Bourgeois Revolution -- 1. Capitalism and the Brave New World -- 2. Law, Voluntary Association, and the Rise of the Public -- III. Economy and Society: The Shadow Side -- 1. Organized Capitalism and Cultural Despair -- 2. Legal Positivism, Civic Quietism, and 'Feudalization' -- IV. The State and Politics -- 1. Discrepancies -- 2. 'The Magic Spear which Heals as well as Wounds' -- 3. The Limits of Notable Politics -- V. The Political Stage and the Problem of Reform -- 1. Bourgeois Divisions and the Rise of Mass Politics -- 2. What Kind of Reform? -- VI. Conclusion -- Bibliographical Note -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.