The Great Disorder: Politics, Economics, and Society in the German Inflation, 1914-1924

The Great Disorder: Politics, Economics, and Society in the German Inflation, 1914-1924

This book presents a comprehensive study of the most famous and spectacular instance of inflation in modern industrial society--that in Germany during and following World War I. A broad, probing narrative, this book studies inflation as a strategy of social pacification and economic reconstruction and as a mechanism for escaping domestic and international indebtedness. The Great Disorder is a study of German society under the tension of inflation and hyperinflation, and it explores the ways in which Germany's hyperinflation and stabilization were linked to the Great Depression and the rise of National Socialism. This wide-ranging study sets German inflation within the broader issues of maintaining economic stability, social peace, and democracy and thus contributes to the general history of the twentieth century and has important implications for existing and emerging market economies facing the temptation or reality of inflation. "Indispensable reading for anyone interested in the fate of democratic institutions in Weimar Germany and other countries operating in the twentieth-century context of war and economic catastrophe."-- American Historical Review "Mandatory reading for social scientists of all kinds, and not only monetarists and historians dealing with twentieth-century Germany."-- Journal of Economic Literature "Feldman's history of the German inflation is impressive both for the breadth of its vision and the texture of its detail....[The book] will become essential reading for anyone who truly wishes to understand what happened to Germany in the first third of the Twentieth century."-- Journal of Military History "Gerald D. Feldman's history of the great inflation in Germany adds up to one of the most comprehensive investigations of an advanced industrial society....With the realist novelist's eye for illustrative detail and consequential themes, Gerald Feldman has produced a sweeping history of Germany in the age of inflation."-- The Historian "[A] magnum opus....[of] monumental value."-- CHOICE " The Great Disorder is the best sort of economic history in a wider sense--explaining not only how economic ideas evolve and events happen, but also how economic decisions can transform society and profoundly shape political culture. As with all of Feldman's work, it is based on an intense and comprehensive grasp of archival sources. To write such a widely encompassing social as well as economic history that takes actual experience as its starting point and does not rely on predigested formulas about class or interests is an immense undertaking, which Feldman has accomplished in an exemplary way."--Harold James, Princeton University " The Great Disorder --a veritable 'opus magnum' and an outstanding example of great historiography. I am deeply impressed by the perfect combination of penetrating research and comprehensive synthesis."--Rudolf Vierhaus, Max-Planck Gesellschaft "Based on an unsurpassed knowledge of primary and secondary sources, this is the most exhaustive study of the social, political, economic, and foreign policy ramifications of Germany's Great Inflation ever undertaken....A truly learned book of lasting significance!"--Carl-Ludwig Holtfrerich, Free University of Berlin "Gerald Feldman's well-researched and well-written book on the causes and consequences of the German inflation provides us with a lucid and penetrating analysis of the problem and will prove to be indispensable for any deeper understanding of the course of twentieth-century German history."--Peter-Christian Witt, University of Kassel "This is a long-awaited book. It brings to a culmination a quarter-century of exhaustive research on one of the key periods of twentieth-century German history....A monumental work that rests on a rock-solid foundation of documentation drawn from more than fifty archives and other repositories....Feldman's study deservedly becomes the standard work on the subject in any language and promises to remain so for a long time."-- Journal of Interdisciplinary History "This is a monumental study....the first book to attempt a synthesis of what is now a large recent literature....bound to become the standard against which all other interpretations are judged, I recommend the work for undergraduate libraries..."-- History "It exceeds the bounds of previous scholarship, moreover, in that Feldman personally has done an enormous amount of additional original research that he incorporates into the book....The result amounts to a reconceptualization of the early history of the Weimar Republic....As such, the book will stand for years to come as the standard work in the field and as a monument to the author's skills and indefatigability both as a researcher and as an organizer of research projects."-- Journal of Modern History Gerald D. Feldman is at University of California, Berkeley.