Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman is a biography of the German statesman Otto von Bismarck by the English historian A. J. P. Taylor. It was first published in the United Kingdom by Hamish Hamilton in June 1955. In a book review written in 1943, Taylor wrote that "to write a life of Bismarck within reasonable compass would be one of the greatest of historical achievements; but perhaps it is impossible. The material is overwhelming; and to make matters worse, Bismarck himself has left, in speeches, conversations or his reminiscences, versions of all the
New Statesman having meanwhile absorbed "Marxism Today" in 1991. In 1993, the "Statesman" was sued by Prime Minister John Major after it published an article discussing rumours that Major was having an extramarital affair with a Downing Street caterer. Although the action was settled out of court for a minimal sum, the magazine's legal costs almost led to its closure. In 1994, KGB defector Yuri Shvets said that the KGB utilised the "New Statesman" to spread disinformation. Shvets said that the KGB had provided disinformation, including forged documents, to the "New Statesman" journalist Claudia Wright which she used for anti-American and anti-Israel