is only possible to enumerate a few of the most important books.
The first place belongs to his own works. These include his own
memoirs, published after his death, under the title _Gedanken und
Erinnerungen_; there is an English translation, _Bismarck: his
Reflections and Reminiscences_ (London, 1898). They are incomplete,
but contain very valuable discussions on particular points. The
speeches are of the greatest importance both for his character and for
political history; of the numerous editions that by Horst Kehl, in 12
vols. (Stuttgart, 1892-1894), is the best; there is a cheap edition in
Reclam's _Universalbibliothek._ Bismarck was an admirable
letter-writer, and numbers of his private letters have been published;
a collected edition has been brought out by Horst Kohl. His letters to
his wife were published by Prince Herbert Bismarck (Stuttgart, 1900).
A translation of a small selection of the private letters was
published in 1876 by F. Maxse. Of great value for the years 1851-1858
is the corrspondence with General L. v. Gerlach, which has been edited
by Horst Kohl (3rd ed., Berlin, 1893). A selection of the political
letters was also published under the title _Politische Briefe aus den
Jahren 1849-1899_ (2nd ed., Berlin, 1890). Of far greater importance
are the collections of despatches and state papers edited by Herr v.
Poschinger. These include four volumes entitled _Preussen im
Bundestag, 1851-1859_ (4 vols., Leipzig, 1882-1885), which contain his
despatches during the time he was at Frankfort. Next in importance are
two works, _Bismarck als Volkswirth_ and _Aktenstucke zur
Wirthschaftspolitik des Fursten Bismarck_, which are part of the
collection of state papers, _Akenstucke zur Geschichte der
Wirthschaftspolitik in Preussen._ They contain full information on
Bismarck's commercial policy, including a number of important state
papers. A useful general collection is that by Ludwig Hahn, _Bismarck,
sein politisches Leben_, &c. (5 vols., Berlin, 1878-1891), which
includes a selection from letters, speeches and newspaper articles.
These collections have only been possible owing to the extreme
generosity which Bismarck showed in permitting the publication of
documents; he always professed to have no secrets. A full account of
the diplomatic history from 1863 to 1866 is given by Sybel in _Die
Begrundung des deutschen Reichs_ (Munich, 1889-1894),