Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein (1757–1831) was a Prussian statesman who contributed to the political transformation of Germany and Prussia during the Napoleonic Period, a transformation that led eventually to the unification of Germany in 1871. In Volume 1 of this three-part biography, originally published in 1878, Seeley records Stein's life from his birth until 1807, when he was central to negotiations with Napoleon at Tilsit and abolished the institution of serfdom. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the Napoleonic Period or the history of Germany.