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A review by lauraellis
Berlin: Portrait of a City Through the Centuries by Rory MacLean
3.0
The subtitle of the book says that it is a portrait of a city through the centuries. This is a portrait of mythos, of story, of legend. It is not concerned with rigorous historical accuracy, which I found problematic right from the beginning. I enjoy historical fiction and I enjoy fantasy, so I have no problems with authors rewriting history to suit their story. But I do find it annoying when people infuse fiction into a work of nonfiction. A particularly glaring example of this is the author writing about what a young soldier thought and felt minutes before he died.
I did find the author's narrative on Marlene Dietrich, Leni Renistahl, Goebbels, a young WWII architect and stories of cold war Berlin particularly riveting. And for that, mostly, I'm giving this three stars instead of 2.5.
I did find the author's narrative on Marlene Dietrich, Leni Renistahl, Goebbels, a young WWII architect and stories of cold war Berlin particularly riveting. And for that, mostly, I'm giving this three stars instead of 2.5.