[this] may well be the definitive study of high and popular politics in pre-1918 Saxony ... [it] offers many fresh comparative insights into the larger context of 19th-century Central European history as well as thoughtful discussions of the socio-political dynamic of this period and ideas on how to conceptualize it ... those who are prepared to read this excellent book ... Read morefrom cover to cover, will be richly rewarded.
Volker Berghahn, Archiv fur Sozialgeschichte
Red Saxony is not just the synthesis of many years of research, nor just a lucid portrayal of Saxony's social history in Imperial Germany. Rather, the book is a convincing plaidoyer for the explanatory value of regional approaches with the inclusion of local perspectives and ... transnational contextualization, for which Retallack has set a new standard.
Swen Steinberg, Neues Archiv fur Sachsische Geschichte [translated]
Retallack's magnificent study explores election battles - encompassing both election campaigns and debates over suffrage laws - as the best site for understanding the course of regime transformation ... Historians will be impressed by [Retallack's] breathtaking knowledge of political life in Saxony, based on a firm command of the archival and secondary materials.
Anna Ross, German History
[Retallack] has produced probably the most important English-language study ever published of the suffrage struggles that characterized 19th-century Europe.
Robert J. Goldstein, CHOICE
James Retallack has become perhaps the most interesting and important historian of Imperial Germany currently working in the field ... His most recent work ... constitutes a major landmark in the historiography of Imperial Germany. The depth of research on display in this book reflects decades of close and thoughtful engagement with the subject matter ... It is hard to think of a better book on Imperial Germany published in recent years.
Andrew G. Bonnell, European History Quarterly
Red Saxony is a powerful contribution that calls into question long- and widely-held assumptions while establishing new ones: it will define the field for years to come. The appearance of this book within the current global political moment, as long-held democratic commitments are increasingly under attack, makes Red Saxony a work as timely as it is erudite
Hans Rosenberg Book Prize committee: Frank Biess (University of California, San Diego), Andrea Orzoff (New Mexico State University), Daniel Riches (University of Alabama)
a combination of exhaustive archival research, complete mastery of the existing body of secondary scholarship, and writing that is engaging, erudite, and replete with literary references ... The final result is a reading of the recent German past that places Retallack's Red Saxony on the cutting edge of political history and how it should be written - with multiple methodologies, command of the sources, a sense of nuance and discernment, and a sensitivity to the different ways in which the material in question can be interpreted.
Larry Eugene Jones, American Historical Review
Retallack [has] made an important contribution to the discussion about the modernization ability of the empire.
Volker Stalmann, Journal of Social History
Retallack in many ways presents a masterpiece of sober historical research. He patiently examines many agendas for historical reform, and analyses parliamentary and electoral histories as well as various strategies of exclusion at many levels-rhetorical, legal, and physical.
Stefan Berger, German Historical Institute London Bulletin
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