Frederick the Great transformed Germany and hence Europe during his reign, 1740-1786. When he assumed the throne, Prussia was a regional power with little influence in Germany. After a reign of over forty years, and through several wars, he greatly weakened the power of Austria in Germany, transformed Prussia into a significant continental power, significantly added to the territorial holdings of his kingdom, and set the stage (although he did not foresee it) for German unification through conquest by Prussia.

Fraser paints Frederick as an enlightened ruler who was genuinely interested in the latest science and ideas. Frederick was a committed autocrat, yet he was, according to Fraser, the most tolerant of all his contemporary monarchs. He accepted greater degrees of dissent in the press and was more open on questions of religion, for example.

Most of the book focuses on military history, which should not be surprising considering that Frederick was considered one of the great captains of history and Fraser was a British general himself. This is not a a hagiography.Frederick made plenty of strategic and tactical mistakes. Yet, he admitted his mistakes and own failings and rarely searched for scapegoats. ( )

A lucid account of Frederick's campaigns is uneasily yoked to a worshipful apologia for his domestic and foreign policies. The title really ought to have been Frederick the Good. ( )