Germania: A Personal History of Germans Ancient and Modern [Kindle Edition]

I was excited to get my hands on a copy of this book as I studied German and have lived in Germany and travelled there extensively. I think the author has evidently put an awful lot of work into this book and it does contain a lot of historical factual information with his take on it all. It's interesting to hear his story of how his interest in all things German developed and it's these personal elements that I probably found the most readable. In some way though it is not quite what I had expected, perhaps I had been after a sort of entertaining, more light-hearted travelogue of adventures in the same vein as Bill Bryson or similar, and that is my error in misunderstanding the nature of the book perhaps, but this is definitely more of a historical account through the ages. In a way I would have liked it to have come right up to the present day Germany we now know, yet I understand the author's reasoning for stopping when he does. I'm sure some readers will find it fascinating and I will probably revisit it in the future and retry sections of it. Personally I think it is easier read and digested in small chunks than trying to go at the whole work at once.

Like some other reviewers I struggled to get past Simon Winder's inability, or unwillingness, to speak German. I am of course familiar with this peculiarly British trait, but it staggers me that anyone can love a country, spend so much time in it, and even write a book on it without taking the trouble to learn the language. Worse, he passes it off as an amusing character foible.

However, once I got past my irritation at that point, which he labours embarrassingly at the start, I soon got into the book. I found his style engaging and amusing, though on occasion he doesn't realise that he's sailing over the top and adding flourishes that draw attention to himself, rather than illuminating the subject.

It is the story that Winder tells that matters; the story of Germany's place in Europe and how it came to be the country that it is. Winder is successful in making sense of the big historical picture, a picture that we in Britain struggle to see, conditioned as we are by our experiences in the 20th century. It is easy to forget, or even be entirely unaware, that Germany was seen as one of the good guys by Britain up till the end of the 19th century. It was at different times a passive victim and a vital ally in the perennial wars against the real European villain, France. Even as late as the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 Britain was instinctively more favourably disposed towards Prussia.

With the interesting partial exception of Frederick the Great's Prussia Germany was one of the more civilised, intellectually lively and unthreatening parts of Europe from the middle of the 17th century until German unification.

Winder is skillful and successful in conveying this very accurate, but alternative (to British eyes) version of Germany. There is so much to admire about Germany, and the dreadful 20th century doesn't diminish earlier German achievements, which we are still able to enjoy long after the Nazis.

It is also worth mentioning the complicated relationship between the Holy Roman Empire and the rest of the German peoples, which took many centuries to settle down into Austria-Hungary and the endless variety of more or less independent German states that eventually united to form Germany. This is a recurring theme of the book, and Winder never forgets that "Germany" has always been much more than the current Federal Republic.

Winder does allow personal idiosyncrasies to distract the reader. His lack of enthusiasm for mountains, and his dismissal of the Baltic coast suggest that he is more comfortable with English landscapes. His judgement may be suspect in that respect, but that is his problem rather than ours! Of far greater significance is his comment that when the Red Army "killed, raped and looted" its way though Germany at the end of the Second World War it was "a vast act of retribution, which it is impossible not to see as nearly legitimate". The Wehrmacht behaved worse in the Soviet Union, but that doesn't alter the fact that the Red Army's depredations were criminal. "Nearly legitimate" is going too far and it jarred.

To be fair, the irritations are small parts of the book and I very much enjoyed the vast majority of the 440 pages. The book gave me enough pleasure and insight to justify a 5 star review, but the foibles and failings keep it down to 4. I still recommend it strongly, however.

Having spent over 5 years living in Germany I decided to buy this book on the back of previous reviews. I was very disappointed with what I read. The style is awful with long-winded sentences and weak attempts at humour. The writer is all over the place, with no clear line of thinking. If you are looking for a book that will give you some idea of what makes Germans tick, then don't bother with this one.