Otto von Bismarck

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A biography called “Otto Von Bismarck: Iron Chancellor of Germany” was written by Kimberley Heuston. She was born in 1960 in Utah, Provo. She got her Bachelor Degree in history and science, at Harvard University, and an MFA in children’s literature at Vermont Collage. Later she worked as an English and history teacher. Also, Kimberley Heuston was awarded by Association for Mormon letter and for young-adult literature. The book describes Otto Von Bismarck’s life in different age stages, which are his young ages, middle ages, and of course his old years. I’d say that in each stage there is an idea of describing Von Bismarck’s character and actions. So, I think that young ages focus on his personality, which is being formed during that age. Middle ages focus on his attitude towards his country and its neighbors. His old years focus on describing or rather proving his conservative view on life. To begin with, Otto Von Bismarck’s mother, whose name is Wilhelmina Mencken, impacted him the most, when he was in his young ages. She didn’t want her son to become another insipid landowners, or as they were called Junkers, as his father was. “She had high hopes for her gifted son. She pushed him mercilessly to study hard and make something of himself”(19). However, as any other young boy he didn’t like to study, but it’s mother, who decides what is the best for the child. This made Otto hate her, when he was a kid. Nevertheless, his mother was not the only important person in his childhood: “The second great power in Otto’s life was his father, Ferdinant von Bismarck.”(19) The Bismarcks had been Junkers for centuries. They had the reputation of being tough, unimaginative, and absolutely loyal to their king. “Otto later confessed that he wa... ... middle of paper ... ...e the control over the country and fired Otto. After this, old ex-chancellor spent his last years fighting with deceases and ended up dying in his bed. This is how the book ended. The book itself is well organized, it tells the story of Otto since his childhood and till his death. And this is the only reason I’d not say that the book is bad. The language usage is relatively poor, but I’m afraid that the book is actually written for children. Therefore, my comment might be unfair. Also, it was very hard to find a specific theme in the book, as every topic is too general. For example 7 weeks war with only three pages covered with big font. Another reason, for which I didn’t like the book is that there are almost no quotes of Otto von Bismarck. So, I’d say that I didn’t like the book because of the reasons described above as well as just the fact that I hate reading.

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