Prussia and Austria were the two most powerful German states in the nineteenth century, and on their relationship depended the political fate of Germany as a whole. This book considers the changing nature of that relationship from 1806, when Austria and Prussia had been excluded from any influence in the rest of Germany by the power of Napoleon, to 1866 when Prussia defeated Austria in war and took control in north and central Germany, and then went on in 1870-71, having defeated France; to bring the remaining German states under her domination. Setting that relationship within its German and European contexts, the book: bull; bull;provides a narrative of Austro-Prussian relations bull; plots the shifts between cooperation and competition bull;considers the final phase of conflict which culminated in war bull; analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the two states relative to each other Written in an accessible and engaging style, the book also contains a strong selection of documents, chronology, maps, glossary, a 'Who's Who' guide to key figures and a guide to further reading to provide students with an invaluable introduction to this key period in European history. John Breuilly is Professor of Modern History at the University of Birmingham.