Frederick is a man who continues to divide opinion; some historians reckon him to be a great statesman-soldier, while others denigrate him as the founder both of Prussian militarism and German nationalism. He was certainly the first Prussian ruler to become a powerful European figure, but this was due as much to his statecraft and shrewd economic management as it was to his considerable military talents. Growing up under a brutal and hostile father, he learned to be secretive, far-seeing, often duplicitous, and to play a lone hand. His astonishing struggle against the great Powers (including Russia) during the Seven Years' War is what he is best remembered by, but equally remarkable was the way in which he rebuilt his country's shattered economy and self-respect. A strange ixture of liberalism and absolutism, Frederick is a unique figure and this biography paints him shorn of many pseudo-historic myths.