A Reaction
            
             Christopher Clarks work, Kaiser Wilhelm II: Profiles in Power Series,
             deals with one of the key aspects of twentieth-century Europeâ€"the last of
             the imperial rulers of Germany from 1888 to 1918.
             Clark details the very interesting story of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the
             King of Prussia and emperor of Germany. On one hand, it is a
             biographyâ€"placing him as a man of the time leading up to the First World
             War, and detailing several (interesting) personal details concerning his
             relationships within his family (especially with his father and
             grandfather), as well as indications of his personal flaws (especially the
             Daily Telegraph episode).
             The book is also an intended work of history, detailing the events
             surrounding his rein as emperor, especially concerning his role in the
             outbreak of WWI (which Clark characterized as relatively minimal, both
             because of his desire to avoid war (218), as well as due to his steadily
             declining influence by 1914.) It is interesting that Clark does take the
             definite stance that Wilhelm was not a so called "war monger" at the time.
             To be sure, for the casual reader, the book does not delve into many
             of the possibly interesting tidbits concerning the Kaiser's philosophies,
             beliefs, or even details of his life aside from his "duties." For this
             reason, it is difficult to answer the question that Clark poses as to the
             "extent" that Wilhelm "can be held responsible for Germany's drift into
             deepening isolation" before the war. For many the lack of personal detail
             concerning his philosophy and thinking makes this question difficult to
             answer, in spite of Clark's description of Wilhelm's apathy concerning the
             pivotal events in 1911.
             One of the best things about the book is Clark's bringing to the
             forefront the existence of unanswered questions concerning the Kaiser.
             However, even though C...