Faust's Metropolis: A History of Berlin
by Alexandra Richie
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HIST The ending of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany have brought about an outpouring of books on the new Germany. Richie (Fellow, Wolfson Coll., Oxford) has added this lengthy study of Berlin. With its checkered past, the city stands at the center of the reunited nation's history. According to Richie, the making of an 'instant capital' in Berlin after the demise of the Wall has been fraught with problems. After World War II the city did not regain its former importance, as many show more still saw it as the capital of Hitler's regime. Even many of the city's residents today protest the idea of the new capital. Berlin must evolve, according to the author, in a natural way and not by edict. On the face of it, Richie's first book is about a two-bit provincial city situated in the sandy slump along a river of no great significance. In fact, Richie's well-researched, endlessly fascinating study is about the history of Germany, of Europe and, sadly, the brutish nastiness of humanity. Richie starts at the beginning ('Berlin's history was shaped by an event which did not take place. The area was never conquered by the Romans'), but this is not merely some academician's idea of completeness. One of Richie's goals is to divide myth from reality and, by detailing the Slavic settlement there, she quickly disproves the enduring myth of Berlin as a pure German city. Likewise, Richie re-situates Romanticism in Berlin, despite postwar attempts to distance the city from it and its nationalistic progeny. But most of all she tears down Berliners' cherished self-image as a city of rebels, of rule-breakers. 'It was Lenin who said that Berliners were incapable of sustaining a revolution,' she writes, 'as they would never disobey the Do Not Walk on the Grass signs which stood between them and the palace gates. He was right.'There are some moments of human grandeur U.S. Gen. Lucius Dubignon Clay's Berlin airlift; Ernst Reuter's brave opposition to Soviet pressure but basically this is a story without heroes. None of the Hohenzollerns come off terribly well (though in fact, Frederick William I is less thoroughly maligned than usual); nor does Bismarck, either of the German Kaisers, the Russians or the ever-naive Americans. Even the Nazi resistance is appropriately portrayed as basically reactionary and half-hearted. Nor does Richie, a British scholar descended from one of the most famous Prussian families, the von Moltkes, let her own ancestors off easily. Richie has filled her book with detail historical, cultural, political, social but none of it is extraneous. Each anecdote, literary reference, newspaper article and personal observation drawn from the five years she lived in and visited Berlin propels the narrative, illuminates the period and hints at what's to come; e.g., the reader sees clearly the connections between the 1843 famine, tenement blocks and the rise of radicalized masses. Carroll and Graf is comparing Faust's Metropolis to Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August and William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. It's a big claim, but they are right. show lessTags
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This was an AMAZING book. A complete history from the inception of Berlin to the near-modern age. While certain aspects were glossed over, this provided an abundance of writing on the nature of Berlin and also of Germany itself. Very impressive-- 5 stars!
Pretty good. Maybe a little too much of the Nazi era of 1933 to 1945; that ground has been covered elsewhere, i.e. the pieces that aren't directly related to Berlin.
The addendum gets a little preachy for my taste. Also, you'd think Helmut Kohl was a genius. It is revealed that either the author's father-in-law or husband was a friend of Kohl's (mostly likely the former).
Having lived in Berlin for a season (thankfully, that season was summer!), I disagreed on some of her observations on Berliners (see, all my in-laws are Berliners and almost all of my wife's friends...).
The addendum gets a little preachy for my taste. Also, you'd think Helmut Kohl was a genius. It is revealed that either the author's father-in-law or husband was a friend of Kohl's (mostly likely the former).
Having lived in Berlin for a season (thankfully, that season was summer!), I disagreed on some of her observations on Berliners (see, all my in-laws are Berliners and almost all of my wife's friends...).
I have only become interested in German history recently. I have read another book about the history of Berlin, [b:Berlin|784885|Berlin|David Clay Large|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348516982s/784885.jpg|770885] and so was already familiar with Berlin's history. This book went further, starting in the Middle Ages, when Berlin was founded. The chapters I most enjoyed were about the First World War, the Golden Twenties, and the Nazis. I also enjoyed the chapters about the Second World War, the Battle of Berlin, and the Cold War. I was disappointed that the book ended before Berlin became Germany's capital again.
After reading this book, I intend to read more about German history, especially about the aftermath of the Second World War and show more how Germany (West Germany in particular) picked itself up and became a successful democracy for the first time in its long history. show less
After reading this book, I intend to read more about German history, especially about the aftermath of the Second World War and show more how Germany (West Germany in particular) picked itself up and became a successful democracy for the first time in its long history. show less
By focussing on Berlin Richie has produced a superb history of Germany. The broad time-span clarifies the origins of the two world wars and the origins of Nazism.
I've just finished read Die Stadt by Hermann Hesse. The origins of his fictional city are close to Berlin's.
I've just finished read Die Stadt by Hermann Hesse. The origins of his fictional city are close to Berlin's.
An excellent history of Berlin!
history, urban history, germany, berlin
Un libro che racconta la storia della città dalla fondazione XII secolo) ai giorni nostri. Ogni evento viene analizzato e permette di capire le cause che hanno sconvolto l'Europa e il mondo.
Jan 2, 2009Italian
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2 Works 441 Members
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1998
- Important places
- Berlin, Germany
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 943.155 — History & geography History of Europe Germany and neighboring central European countries Northeastern Germany Brandenburg and Berlin Berlin
- LCC
- DD881 .R5 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Germany History of Germany Local history and description Berlin
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 295
- Popularity
- 108,197
- Reviews
- 7
- Rating
- (4.12)
- Languages
- English, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 2
