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jacki_f 's review for:
The Shortest History of Germany
by James Hawes
In a little over 200 pages we get a history of German from Roman times (when Caesar came up with the term "Germania") through to the recent massive influx of Middle Eastern refugees. It covers a lot of ground, but it's skilfully written so the central themes are clear and it's very easy to follow. A reviewer called FactJunky on Amazon put it very well when he said "You get the forest as well as a few specimens of the best trees". I also liked the way the author incorporated themes from German literature and how he didn't hang back from injecting his own opinions (and sorrow) about some events.
I got two key things out of this book. One was a sense of how German history pieces together. While I vaguely knew about the German Electors and Bismarck and Prussia and the importance of the Ruhr, I'm not sure I could have explained any of them to another person. But I also really liked the framework it gave me as a way of thinking not just about German history but about Germany today. Just because a book is short, it doesn't necessarily follow that it will be easy to read and it certainly doesn't follow that it will give you sufficient depth to satisfy. This one does.
I got two key things out of this book. One was a sense of how German history pieces together. While I vaguely knew about the German Electors and Bismarck and Prussia and the importance of the Ruhr, I'm not sure I could have explained any of them to another person. But I also really liked the framework it gave me as a way of thinking not just about German history but about Germany today. Just because a book is short, it doesn't necessarily follow that it will be easy to read and it certainly doesn't follow that it will give you sufficient depth to satisfy. This one does.