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elayton2's review
3.0
3.5/5
I would describe this book as a collection of a short stories, the qualities of which vary significantly. Overall I enjoyed it as it gave a useful overview of the history of Berlin, however I couldn't recommend it if you aren't planning on visiting the city as it was long-winded and tenuous in sections.
I would describe this book as a collection of a short stories, the qualities of which vary significantly. Overall I enjoyed it as it gave a useful overview of the history of Berlin, however I couldn't recommend it if you aren't planning on visiting the city as it was long-winded and tenuous in sections.
mscarle's review against another edition
4.0
It was a five star until near the end - the post-WW2 chapters are really not as strong as the preceding stories, and the JFK chapter presented as a screenplay was just not good at all. But otherwise a strong, effecting read.
pauldaly's review against another edition
3.0
Ostensibly a look at the city through the lives of some of it's most famous residents, it is"Berliners" more than "Berlin". While the capsule bios are interesting, one doesn't take away any particular sense of the city.
Still, some fun anecdotes.
Still, some fun anecdotes.
amyfitzsimmons's review against another edition
4.0
This is the history of Berlin told through the historical figures or sometimes fictional characters, that lived in this city during the last 500 years. I really enjoyed this as it explored the lives of characters who I knew such as Goebbels, Kennedy, Bowie and Isherwood but also other characters such as a women named Lilli Neuss in order to tell history from the bottom up.
admacg's review
4.0
Enjoyed this. Took it to Berlin with me and enjoyed visiting some of the places mentioned. Gives you a real flavour of Berlin and the bones it's built upon, with a tumultuous and fascinating history. Particularly poignant to be reading the section on David Bowie just at the time his death was announced.
paperbookmarks's review
3.0
Read for dissertation.
I really enjoyed how this was written - it was completely opposite to the more stoical and historical narrative of THE COMING OF THE THIRD REICH and was a bit of fresh air to fly through and discover more about Berlin and how the city of was conceptualised in the thirties.
I really enjoyed how this was written - it was completely opposite to the more stoical and historical narrative of THE COMING OF THE THIRD REICH and was a bit of fresh air to fly through and discover more about Berlin and how the city of was conceptualised in the thirties.
psr's review
5.0
MacLean constructs a history of the city over the last 500 years through portraits in miniature of people who have lived there. Some of the characters were well known to me - Bowie, Isherwood, Dietrich, Goebbels, Speer, Brecht, JFK, Fred the Great... Others, drawn from more obscure aspects of the city's mythology, I hadn't encountered before.
The book was never less than interesting across its 25 chapters. MacLean writes very well, frequently novelising his material and keeping the reader gripped (no dusty old textbook narratives here). The history of Berlin it presented was overwhelmingly grim. Medieval barbarity, Prussian militarism and conquests, the First World War and chemical warfare, Nazism and the Holocaust, area bombing, the Stasi and the Wall... It was perhaps as well that the concluding chapter ended on a note of optimism. It's a timely reminder of the dangers we face, especially with the spectre of nationalism rising once again from the crypt, in Europe and elsewhere. Personally, I find learning about my European neighbours and the history we share rather more useful than slamming the Brexit door in their faces.
MacLean was a little too keen to point out - on several occasions - that he knew some of the principal characters. The text required some judicious editing here and there, I felt. These minor caveats aside, it's well worth reading.
Postscript. After completing my review, I had a look at what others had to say about the book. The major theme for carping/harping on about it seemed to be that it wasn't a straightforward history of Berlin. This to me doesn't seem germane (ha ha). A cursory read of the back cover and index clearly informs the potential reader that this is not a history textbook. It seems rather harsh to judge MacLean's book for not being something it wasn't intended to be in the first place.
The book was never less than interesting across its 25 chapters. MacLean writes very well, frequently novelising his material and keeping the reader gripped (no dusty old textbook narratives here). The history of Berlin it presented was overwhelmingly grim. Medieval barbarity, Prussian militarism and conquests, the First World War and chemical warfare, Nazism and the Holocaust, area bombing, the Stasi and the Wall... It was perhaps as well that the concluding chapter ended on a note of optimism. It's a timely reminder of the dangers we face, especially with the spectre of nationalism rising once again from the crypt, in Europe and elsewhere. Personally, I find learning about my European neighbours and the history we share rather more useful than slamming the Brexit door in their faces.
MacLean was a little too keen to point out - on several occasions - that he knew some of the principal characters. The text required some judicious editing here and there, I felt. These minor caveats aside, it's well worth reading.
Postscript. After completing my review, I had a look at what others had to say about the book. The major theme for carping/harping on about it seemed to be that it wasn't a straightforward history of Berlin. This to me doesn't seem germane (ha ha). A cursory read of the back cover and index clearly informs the potential reader that this is not a history textbook. It seems rather harsh to judge MacLean's book for not being something it wasn't intended to be in the first place.
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