Barnacle: The principal book I was relying on was Fritz Fischer, Griff nach der Weltmacht (transl. "Germany's War Aims in the First World War) which came out in the 1960's and traced the expansion of Germany's ambitions throughout the war. Conclusion: had Germany won, it would have been in a position of world dominance, although from the standpoint of its ideologists the war was dafensive. Fischer later published Krieg der Illusionen, which I have not read, tracing the development of imperialist thinking and pressure groups in the years preceding the War. Those were considered very new and exciting when I war in grad school, and I suspect they are still respected.

Also much respected was Eckart Kehr's Schlachtflottenbau und Parteipolitik which was about the part played by political and economic pressure groups in shaping German defense policies in the early years of the 20th Century.

Probably I sound like a smart-ass for mentioning these things, but the parallels with contemporary America were so striking I couldn't help myself.