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rysack's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable whiz through the history of a well-known and very specifically studied country. An enjoyable one to fly through, picking up many historical facts that I’ll no doubt forget in a week. Certainly good to read while in Germany, and makes me look forward to Berlin!
8/10
8/10
jjkamin's review against another edition
3.0
Does a good job with the beginning of German history, but for a general history of the country he has a working thesis that East Germany and specifically Prussia is the reason for most of their past and present problems. While it’s an interesting argument— to place it as accepted fact in a short history is a little dangerous.
silkesf's review against another edition
1.0
As so many pointed out already, this is not a history book, but the authors pushes his opinion onto the reader. It’s an absolutely flawed thesis. The reader isn’t even allowed to form their own conclusion or opinions, but actually misses crucial information that would allow us to do so. The author left things out that were likely not convenient to his narrative, or phrased things in a way that “fits the bill”. There are hardly any source notes, other than random sound bites that fit into the story.
ehead's review against another edition
3.0
As other reviewers have pointed out, a central thesis is the vast cultural and temperamental differences between east Germany (Prussia/Saxony), and west Germany. The author depicts the difference as similar to the north/south divide in the U.S., with the east German's being like southerners both historically (the Prussians were colonizers and ran huge agricultural estates), and politically, being dangerously nationalistic and anti NATO and EU. The blame for 20th century German aggression in the two world wars is put squarely on Prussia.
I don't know enough about the history of Germany to comment on the accuracy of this picture, but I won't fault the author for putting forth a thesis that may or may not be true (to the extent abstract historical reasoning like this can be "true"). I'm from the US south and am pretty used to the rest of the country dissing on the south and stereotyping it, and I'll be the first to admit the stereotype isn't entirely inaccurate. You shouldn't take it personally, of course, cause all stereotypes fall apart when applied to certain individuals and more information comes in. But, they can be meaningful statistically, and that is what he tries to demonstrate via voting patterns.
I enjoyed the earlier parts of the book more, up to WWI. The unification of Germany was particularly interesting. The parts on Germany's modern day politics I found less interesting. Overall a pretty good intro to German history. Only wish it went into more detail on medieval and early modern Germany.
I don't know enough about the history of Germany to comment on the accuracy of this picture, but I won't fault the author for putting forth a thesis that may or may not be true (to the extent abstract historical reasoning like this can be "true"). I'm from the US south and am pretty used to the rest of the country dissing on the south and stereotyping it, and I'll be the first to admit the stereotype isn't entirely inaccurate. You shouldn't take it personally, of course, cause all stereotypes fall apart when applied to certain individuals and more information comes in. But, they can be meaningful statistically, and that is what he tries to demonstrate via voting patterns.
I enjoyed the earlier parts of the book more, up to WWI. The unification of Germany was particularly interesting. The parts on Germany's modern day politics I found less interesting. Overall a pretty good intro to German history. Only wish it went into more detail on medieval and early modern Germany.
blackzowen's review against another edition
1.0
Sparse smatterings of interesting facts intertwined with large sections of total hyperbole and bias. This is not a history book, rather an opinion piece on why Catholicism is the greatest thing to happen to Europe, whilst the 'barbaric' east Germans have always held it back. Perhaps if the author consistently took the same magnifying glass to the corruption and misgivings of West Germany, then perhaps the book would be slightly more rounded and balanced. There are some topics which display a total lack of understanding, and to be honest I struggled to read on past the misinformed part about Hegel. The conclusion also seemed off-kilter, is the author suggesting that East Germany be turned into an independent state just to save Europe? However, the author has excellent prose and can be funny at points, it's just a shame that this book reads more like a Dailymail-does-history opinion piece.
mjolnirmjolnir's review against another edition
5.0
A highly recommended read.
James puts the dividing line of east and west Germany into historical perspective and touches upon patterns in their history.
I particularly enjoyed the walkthrough of the last hundred years and the final reminder that now, more than ever, Germany must be a strong leader in the West and guarantee liberal unity.
James puts the dividing line of east and west Germany into historical perspective and touches upon patterns in their history.
I particularly enjoyed the walkthrough of the last hundred years and the final reminder that now, more than ever, Germany must be a strong leader in the West and guarantee liberal unity.
booksrockcal's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
3.75
I picked up this audiobook on Hoopla just after New Year’s. My husband and I are going to Germany this year and I wanted to get some background reading in and this seemed like a good choice as it is called The Shortest History of Germany. It was highly readable and accessible although the author does seem to have some interesting opinions I will have to explore more in subsequent books. The author favors Germany west of the Elbe over Germany east of the Elbe and considers that the bad elements of Germany that led to Hitler (and the current rise of the ADF from the Protestant East. He doesn’t like Bismarck and I’m not sure Catholics were as unsupportive of Hitler as he maintains especially given the composition of Austria. I also would have appreciated more on the art, architecture, music, and literature of Germany. Still taken for what I wanted as I begin a year that will include travel to Germany- an overview of German history- this fit the bill.
kathrinreads's review against another edition
1.0
Well, that thing is not really a non-fiction book but rather a try to create an alternate history and stir racial and fascist tendencies. I seriously don't get how that got published.