Frederick the Great - one of the few rulers in history to be granted the epithet - was, in David Fraser's description 'one of the most extraordinary men ever to sit on the throne or command an army'. He was an artistic patron and himself an artist of whose attributes of mind and taste were recognised throughout Europe. He was made famous at the age of 33 by his military capacities, and he lived the rest of his long life acknowledged as the greatest soldier of his age. David Fraser's biography, which aims to be definitive, explores every aspect of Frederick's career with complete thoroughness. As readers of his lives of Alanbrooke and Rommel will know, Fraser writes with lucidity, elegance and penetration....