Synopses & Reviews
In one concise volume, Hagen Schulze brilliantly conveys the full sweep of German history, from the days of the Romans to the fall of the Berlin Wall. A story two thousand years in the making, itrings with battle, murmurs with intrigue, and hums with the music of everyday life. This richly various legacy, often overshadowed and distorted by the nation's recent past, offers a hopeful answer to the perennial question of what kindof country Germany is and will be.
From the revolt of the indigenous tribes against Roman domination, Schulze leads us through the events that have defined a nation at the center of Europeanculture--the Thirty Years' War and the decline of the Holy Roman Empire, Luther's Reformation and Bismarck's attendance at the birth of modern Germany, the Great War and its aftermath, the nationalistic megalomania under Hitler, thedivision of the nation after World War II and its reunification. Throughout, we see what these developments have meant for the German people, in the arena of private life and on the stage of world history. A lavish array ofillustrations provides a lively counterpoint to Schulze's elegantly written narrative.
As it follows the threads of German language, nationalism, and culture to the present day, this dramatic accountprovides ample reassurance that recent history will not repeat itself. Germany: A New Historywill prove indispensable to our understanding of Germany, past and present, and the future of Europe.
Review
Schulze admirably succeeds in providing a concise overview of 2,000 years of German history...For informed general readers who wish to broaden their knowledge of European history, Schulze's well-organized and easilydigested account will be ideal.
Review
The virtues of the book...include both reliability and brevity. The text runs to 340 pages, but is so lavishly illustrated that nearly 100 of those pages are taken up with pictures and their captions. A summary ofthe whole of German history in 240-odd pages of words can give a valuable bird's-eye view...[Schulze] argues powerfully that today's Germany is unlike any of the Germanys of the past, that it can and should become a "normal"nation-state.
Review
[Hagen Schulze provides] a clear summary of the major political, social and intellectual developments that shaped a nation...His overview of German culture is a model of clarity and perception. Moreover, hiswillingness to examine the fundamental, and often ambiguous, nature of German society is to be applauded, as is whole-hearted rejection of the vision of a Germany based around a single purpose or set of common values...This remains animpressive and well-conceived work which will no doubt inform and entertain for years to come.
Review
Schulze projects the 19th-century idea of Germany as a "delayed nation" on German history as a whole--an effective leitmotif for this balanced and beautifully written book. The narrative moves comfortably throughthe archaic principles of the Holy Roman Empire, the emergence of a Pan-German identity, the lack of "inner ties" within the Kaiser's empire, and the 'inner stability' of the Federal Republic. This view correctly emphasizes thecountry's social and economic transformation without neglecting Germany's larger European context...The author's grasp of historical possibility makes credible his concluding assertions about the "fundamental" differences betweentoday's Germany and its earlier versions. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries.
Review
With the aim of explaining what Germany represents and what it can and should be, "Schulze proposes to tell anew the story of German history." And quite a good story-teller he is...This book pursues two majoraims: it wants to provide a concise history of modern Germany that emphasizes diversity, if primarily at the level of politics; it also hopes to reassure both Germans and their neighbors that history is not going to repeat itself...This[book] is a reliable and very readable history of Germany.
Review
The virtues of the book...include both reliability and brevity. The text runs to 340 pages, but is so lavishly illustrated that nearly 100 of those pages are taken up with pictures and their captions. A summary of the whole of German history in 240-odd pages of words can give a valuable bird's-eye view...[Schulze] argues powerfully that today's Germany is unlike any of the Germanys of the past, that it can and should become a "normal" nation-state.
About the Author
Hagen Schulzeis Director of the German Historical Institute, London and Professor of European History at the <>Free University ofBerlin.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The Roman Empire and German Lands (to 1400)
2. Transitions (1400-1648)
3. Twilight of the Empire (1648-1806)
4. The Birth of the German Nation (1806-1848)
5. Blood and Iron (1848-1871)
6.German Possibilities: A Digression
7. A Nation State in the Center of Europe (1871-1890)
8. Unification and the Dream of World Power (1890-1914)
9. The Great War and Its Aftermath (1914-1923)
10. Weimar: Brief Glory and Decline (1924-1933)
11. German Megalomania(1933-1942)
12. The End of the Third Reich and a New Beginning (1942-1949)
13. A Divided Nation (1949-1990)
14.Epilogue: What Is the German's Fatherland?
Suggested Readings
Illustration Credits
Index