Product Description

In Berlin, history is tangible. The sense of the past; of Europe, of Germany, and of the 20th century's myths, depravities, idealism and horror, hangs in the air around the old Hinterhofs and deserted railway stations. No other city has played such a part in the tides of twentieth-century European affairs. This is the rich and inspiring history of the city: from the revolutionary fervour of its teeming slums, the insufferable pomp of Imperial Berlin, and the frantic modernism of Weimar to the brutality of the Nazis and the symbolic defeat of communism as the Wall came down.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #549353 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1168 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
An ambitious undertaking, Faust's Metropolis: A History of Berlin aims to chronicle the history of Germany through the microcosm of its most dramatic city. Alexandra Richie's thousand-page tome spans from the time of Nero to Helmut Kohl. It is an encyclopaedic description of the Schicksal Stadt Deutschlands--the City of German Destiny--filled with the politics of rulers and the ideology of artists. Richie doesn't romanticise Berlin; early on, she invokes Goethe's view of the city as bourgeois, brash, and onerous. "Like the metropolis in Faust it has always been a rather shabby place," Richie comments. "It is neither an ancient gem like Rome, nor an exquisite beauty like Prague, nor a geographical marvel like Rio. It was formed not by the gentle, cultured hand which made Dresden or Venice but was wrenched from the unpromising landscape by sheer hard work and determination."

By placing her historical account in a world-encompassing perspective, the culture described in Faust's Metropolis comments on the whole of Germany and its people. The author is most eloquent in describing the recent history of the city. As a resident during its divided years, she describes Berlin as the ultimate "border city," on the frontline of the duelling Weltanschauungs of the Cold War. Her tone is familiar in describing the changing face of the city, and her enthusiasm evident as the book moves into the modern era. Filled with the insights of its unique and myriad residents, Faust's Metropolis recounts Berlin's culture, providing the reader with a thorough history and authoritative analysis.

Review
'Thoroughgoing and engrossing. Modern Berlin was the hub of commerce, centre stage for politics, mecca for high culture, and a haven for extravagance and eccentricity. Alexandra Richie controls all this material superbly.' PETER GAY 'A wide-ranging book, full of fascinating detail, and compellingly written.' ROBERT CONQUEST 'A unique combination of an analysis of Berlin with a study of the entire history of Germany and of Germany's problems of national and linguistic self-definition.' HAROLD JAMES

A monumental history accessible to a mass audience. "Crude" was how Goethe described the city of Berlin in 1778, while Stendhal wondered why anyone would construct a city in such a desolate place. When it was named the capital of the new nation in 1871, other Germans grumbled that Berlin was too Prussian, militaristic, Protestant, and new. Lacking the shine of Paris or the glory of Rome, Berlin nonetheless has been at the center of European history no less than its more glamorous cousins. Although remembered more for Bismarck and Hitler - whose ghosts still hover over the city - Berlin was also the home of the Enlightenment in Germany and a creative art scene in the 19th and early 20th centuries, until such pursuits were stamped out by National Socialism. Richie, a fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, is a descendent of the Von Moltke family, which has been a major protagonist in the city's history. Critical to understanding Berlin is the municipality's conception of itself as the City of German Destiny, a conception that has perhaps done more damage to the metropolis than any foreign occupying army. Equally critical for modern Berlin has been the way German unification was achieved - through "blood and the sword" in Bismarck's memorable phrase, rather than noble ideals. Epigraphs from Goethe's Faust appropriately open each chapter. Richie dwells at length on the Weimar Republic and doesn't fail to examine German Expressionism, architecture, cinema, theater. But this art history is merely part of a sweeping canvas that succinctly covers several centuries of changing politics, economics, and social conditions, from absolutism to romanticism; from nationalism to socialism and, tragically, National Socialism. Richie weaves a colorful tapestry and, in the process, adroitly separates fact from fiction, myth from history. The illustrations are plentiful and illuminating, and the writing is a pleasure. Historians should take note: This is the way to reach a mass audience. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author
Alexandra Richie wrote this book while a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. She has lived and worked in both East and West Berlin and in the unified capital, and wrote her Oxford doctorate on the history of the city. Her family has been linked to Berlin since the fourteenth century. She is currently researching and writing on German-Russian history. This is her first book.

Customer Reviews

A must for anyone interested in German history
This book is a must for anyone with an interest in German history and complements well other titles in this genre. It is more than just a political history and gives a fascinating insight into the other aspects of life throughout the various periods in Berlin's history, particularly as relating to the arts, theatre etc.

Some minor gripes, however, such as some significant mistakes, e.g. the "You are now leaving the American Zone sign was at the Brandenburg Gate" when the latter was actually on the boundary of the British and Russian Zones - the sign in question was at Checkpoint Charlie; Wedding was in the French Zone, not the British Zone; and the annoying habit of most historians (who should know better) of treating Britain and England as the same entity.

These are, however, minor gripes and do not detract from the overall value of the book as an insight into the turbulent history of this city which is only now at last getting the chance to build a prosperous and free future for itself.

Excellent history, and more.
I found this an excellent book; readable, inciteful, and useful. Ms. Richie has provided the reader withan history of Berlin and the region that enlightens and challenges the reader, whether German, English, or Central European.

I believe that this book will become a staple in the literature of the region, and a must for those trying to get an understanding of German culture and its impact on the rest of Europe.

My congratulations to the author!