One of A.J.P. Taylor's best known books, The Course of German History is a notoriously idiosyncratic work, written during the last days of the Second World War. Composed in his famously witty style, yet succinct to the point of sharpness, The Course of German History is one of the great historian's finest, if more controversial, accomplishments.

As Taylor himself noted, 'the history of the Germans is a history of extremes. It contains everything except moderation.' He could, of course, simply be referring to his own book.