Germania
In Wayward Pursuit of the Germans and Their History
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4.5 • 11 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A UNIQUE EXPLORATION OF GERMAN CULTURE, FROM SAUSAGE ADVERTISEMENTS TO WAGNER
Sitting on a bench at a communal table in a restaurant in Regensburg, his plate loaded with disturbing amounts of bratwurst and sauerkraut made golden by candlelight shining through a massive glass of beer, Simon Winder was happily swinging his legs when a couple from Rottweil politely but awkwardly asked: "So: why are you here?"
This book is an attempt to answer that question. Why spend time wandering around a country that remains a sort of dead zone for many foreigners, surrounded as it is by a force field of historical, linguistic, climatic, and gastronomic barriers? Winder's book is propelled by a wish to reclaim the brilliant, chaotic, endlessly varied German civilization that the Nazis buried and ruined, and that, since 1945, so many Germans have worked to rebuild.
Germania is a very funny book on serious topics—how we are misled by history, how we twist history, and how sometimes it is best to know no history at all. It is a book full of curiosities: odd food, castles, mad princes, fairy tales, and horse-mating videos. It is about the limits of language, the meaning of culture, and the pleasure of townscape.
Customer Reviews
Fun for cultural history buffs
the author expects the reader to have a pretty good grasp of European history. his brief is twofold: first, that Germany and its history are more fun than you think, and second, that standard, linear, serious history is untrue to the quirky fog of misinformation and mixed motives that characterize history in the making. the style is very British, with long riffs of wit punctuated by sudden swoops of overstated self deprecation. I liked the author, partly for his view of history as "delusive" (16 uses) and "daft" (10 uses) and even more for how he articulates his sorrow at the loss of Austria Hungary and central European culture generally. small German towns are likened to potato chips, in that there seems to be no upper limit in the number that can be enjoyably consumed. warning: if you find Christopher Hitchens insufferably arch you may also find Mr. Winder a bit of a smarty pants. (Do the British have to master this strenuously clever style to get into Oxbridge, as in The History Boys?) According to Germania, the Brits (and the anglophone world that follows in their cultural wake) have systematically undervalued all things German because of the Nazi stain. If Mr. Winder can teach us to love Germany without minimizing the Nazi catastrophe he will have done a great service. Bottom line: sample the book, and if you like his style give him the benefit of the doubt and buy the book.