Amazon.com
In a pithy, concisely written text, Hagen Schulze chronicles Germany's often spotted historical past from the time of the nomadic Nordic tribes who migrated South into the Roman Empire to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, offering the past as a pretext for what he considers a new history yet unfolding. Consciously written for the general reader with little or no knowledge of German history, Schulze's account reads easily (superbly translated by Deborah Lucas Schneider), combining historical detail with broader analysis and consistently placing the German historical moment within a global context.
In his chronicle of Wilhelmine Germany, the period from 1890 to 1914, Schulze skillfully outlines details of political events both inside Germany and throughout Europe, then illustrates how they delineate a turning point from the precarious political order previously maintained by Bismarck. He interweaves this political narrative with analysis of social, economic, and cultural events of the era: the legacy of Prussian militarism, the rise of industrial and agricultural unions, the disillusionment of German youth with the rise of industrialism, German advances in scientific research, musical developments by Wagner and Brahms, the theatrical productions of Gerhard Hauptmann and Georg Kaiser, and the growing intellectual influence of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Freud. Supplemented by relevant photos and suggestions for further reading, Schulze's account provides the reader with a concise, accurate, and well-balanced presentation of the pre-war period, exemplifying a consistently balanced approach throughout the text. --Bertina Loeffler
From Booklist
Schulze, professor of European history at the Free University of Berlin, admirably succeeds in providing a concise overview of 2,000 years of German history. Beginning with the Germanic tribes pressing on the frontiers of the Roman Empire, Schulze cogently illustrates how those diverse German-speaking peoples gradually evolved common cultural bonds that eventually led to efforts at political unification. This is a fast-moving survey that manages to touch most of the critical bases--from Charlemagne to Frederick the Great to Hitler--without concentrating on any one particular historical era. Some specialists will find this work a mile wide and an inch deep; however, for informed general readers who wish to broaden their knowledge of European history, Schulze's well-organized and easily digested account will be ideal. Jay Freeman
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German
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