- The Shortest History of Germany: From Roman Frontier to the Heart of Europe―A Retelling for Our Times (The Shortest History Series)

HIGHLY recommended. I bought this book in preparation for a trip to Germany. I expected to "work through" the history of the country, but I found that I couldn't put this book down! It was an absolute pleasure to read. The tone and pacing were like having a knowledgable companion, someone who loves his topic, chat with you at a party. It was very engaging! The author seemed authoritative, but not at all stuffy, he referenced things to see on Netflix and YouTube. There was painful material, of course; it was presented in a sensitive but straightforward way. The author acknowledges the limitations of a brief history, but after completing the book I am confident that I have a solid overview as well as a feel for the experience of the people over time.

A little bit hard to read if you're not familiar with the history of Europe but a very entertaining way of telling quite a long story.

Being biracial (African American and German American), I've never really known anything about the history or culture of Germany outside of what America teaches about WWII and the Holocaust. Reading this book was and eye-opener and was so fun because of how much I was learning, and it was pretty simple to follow along with, and for me that's huge considering I'm a kinesthetic learner and I don't typically enjoy reading. I learned so much and even forced some of my close friends and family to listen to me tell them what I learned!

I read a lot of history books, but this was one of my favorites. In a few hundred pages it swept you along from the Germanic tribes gradually drifting into Rome, to the deals made between the Pope and the Germans to create the Holy Roman Empire, to the rise of Prussia. Prussia, it turns out, was something of a far-off outpost to convert heathens to Christianity, in what is now Poland, that developed into a military culture (the Junkers) that eventually put the rest of Germany onto its warmongering behavior. I had no idea. All this without being smothered with too much detail.

U.S. citizens, and we are certainly not alone, often lack significantly in our knowledge of history - and we continue to make, or at least risk making, potentially serious related mistakes. A continued strong Europe, and a strong relationship with the U.S., is critical, and Germany is arguably one of the most important, if not the most important, country in Europe. We must learn from past mistakes given that the risk and costs of mistakes now appear potentially much more terrible. This book is far from perfect, but it packs a lot of useful information into a fairly easily digestible package.

You can read this in a few hours, and learn quite a bit about the history of Germany; really gives you a bird's eye view of Germany's history, and it's a fairly capturing read overall. However the bias in this story is felt from the very beginning, and left me with a very bleak view of Eastern Germany. But yeah, still entertaining read overall.

Enlightened. Really an eye opener. Very to the point. Tribalism even in 21st century Europe. History repeats itself. Why couldn’t the USA learn from Angela Merkels mistakes?

This might be a good refresher if you’re already very knowledgeable on european history (which I’m not). It’s an interesting read, but the author seems to assume you’re already well versed in the subject and as such, breezes through a lot of subject matter for which you’ll have little or no context. If your only goal was brevity it works, but if actually want to understand German history, find something with a few more pages. Maybe a “Pretty short, but not too short history of Germany”?

An absolute MUST read. Brilliantly insightful.

Just beyond words. 2300 years of bloodshed history condensed into 228 pages. This book is a reflection of the future for this generation.

Divertido de leer

En verdad que el autor logró, en unas cuantas páginas, resumir mucha historia. Siempre se aprende de libros como este.

A bit dry but it’s short. So much info packed into this book that it is confusing trying to remember it.