Berlin
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A narrative history of one of the 20th century's most loved-and unloved-cities, "Berlin" is as vibrant, and colourful as the great German metropolis itself. In the political history of the past century, no city has played a more prominent - though often disastrous - role than Berlin. At the same time, Berlin has also been a dynamic centre of artistic and intellectual innovation. If Paris was the "Capital of the Nineteenth Century," Berlin was to become the signature city for the next hundred years. Once a symbol of modernity, in the 1930s it became associated with injustice and the abuse of power. After 1945, it became the iconic city of the cold war. Since the fall of the Wall, Berlin has again come to represent humanity's aspirations for a new beginning, tempered by caution deriving from the traumas of the recent past. David Clay Large's history of Berlin is framed by the two German unifications of 1871 and 1990. Between these two events several themes run like a thread through the city's history: a persistent inferiority complex; a distrust among many ordinary Germans, and the national leadership of the "unloved city's" electric atmosphere, fast tempo, and tradition of unruliness; its status as a magnet for immigrants, artists, intellectuals and the young; and the opening up of social, economic and ethnic divisions as sharp as the one created by the Wall.
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HEN GERMANY BECAME UNIFIED in 1871 following the defeat of France by a Prussian-led coalition of German states, Berlin was transformed from a provincial royal seat into the capital of one of the most powerful nations in Europe. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
HEN GERMANY BECAME UNIFIED in 1871 following the defeat of France by a Prussian-led coalition of German states, Berlin was transformed from a provincial royal seat into the capital of one of the most powerful nations in Europe. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Professor Large teaches German history at Montana University,and has written extensively on modern German history.The attraction of his analysis is that he's American-Germany never invaded or bombed the USA,so US writers have a more objective viewpoint that their European counterparts.
This is the story of Berlin from the first unification of Germany in 1871 to the second in 1990(and a bit beyond).Thankfully,the section on the Nazi era does not take up most of the book,and recognises that Hitler is not the be-all and end-all of Germany,unlike some writers.Takes in cultural,economic and social history as well as political and military matters,and is very sharp on Berlin's contribution to literature(Alfred Doblin,Erich Kastner,Brecht,on up to Gunter Grass and Peter Schneider).
My favourite part is the compare and contrast chapters on Berlin as a divided city(from 1961 to 1989).His eye for the bizarre similarities as well as expected differences is very acute here,as his great use of examples from youth culture-anti-Vietnam war protestors in the west,punks and skinheads in the east.
Problem is that it's out of print,at least in the UK,so get a second-hand copy now,or get it from the US Amazon website.
This is the story of Berlin from the first unification of Germany in 1871 to the second in 1990(and a bit beyond).Thankfully,the section on the Nazi era does not take up most of the book,and recognises that Hitler is not the be-all and end-all of Germany,unlike some writers.Takes in cultural,economic and social history as well as political and military matters,and is very sharp on Berlin's contribution to literature(Alfred Doblin,Erich Kastner,Brecht,on up to Gunter Grass and Peter Schneider).
My favourite part is the compare and contrast chapters on Berlin as a divided city(from 1961 to 1989).His eye for the bizarre similarities as well as expected differences is very acute here,as his great use of examples from youth culture-anti-Vietnam war protestors in the west,punks and skinheads in the east.
Problem is that it's out of print,at least in the UK,so get a second-hand copy now,or get it from the US Amazon website.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Fantastic!
10 Dec 2000
Format:Hardcover
Any fan of the city must read this book. This history of Berlin from its time as the Prussian capital to today covers such varied topics as music under the Nazis (I learned some things about Richard Strauss and Herbert von Karajan I hadn't known before!), Wall escape attempts, and the problems of reunification, among others. It's liberally sprinkled with examples of the famous Berliner sense of humor. A great read for the novice or the experienced Berlinophile. My one major grumble: the Cold War era section covers the western half of the city far more extensively than the eastern half. I would have liked to see more about life on the "other side". Minor quibble: being a first edition, it suffers from a very noticeable number of typos. Still a fantastic introduction -- or reintroduction -- to the city on the Spree.
18 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Overrated in every way
12 Feb 2002
Format:Hardcover
Large can certainly write a smooth and engaging narrative. But that's about all that I can recommend about this book. Large's caustic and cynical view of Berlin and Berliners is can be extremely off-putting, bordering at times on the offensive. I found his particular comment that the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church looked better after the carpet bombing of World War II than before to be extremley offensive, especially in light of how many thousands of Berlin's civilians were killed during that particular episode of "architectural improvement."
Add to this that the book seems to lack any sort of historical context, placing artistic, social and political movements apart from similar movements that were sweeping through other European cities of the time, and I find it very difficult to recommend this book to anybody.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
....Berlin said best....
23 May 2002
Format:Paperback
Once again David C. Large proposes that college required reading and a sense of humor can be assimilated. Stating that the "Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church looked better after the carpet bombing of World War II than before" is comical, yet sadly true! Large educates the reader about Europe's most captivating city, Berlin! He manages to not only remind us of its beauty, but that it is a romantisch city that need not be known only as the former Nazi capital. A consistent and entertaining book, an asset to history itself. Steve Newman
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