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kikosma's review
1.0
This is a very academic read. I had hoped for a bit of understanding of the of Germany/ Prussia relationship throughout history, but didn't find it with this one.
allthebookblognamesaretaken's review
2.0
I was very disappointed in this book. Given the fact that I'm about 75% German, I know my fair share of 'modern history' so to speak; in middle and high school I devoured every book about WWII and the Holocaust that I could and would consider myself an expert in that area. But now when I wanted to learn more about medieval Germany, this book gave me a paltry 13 pages. Definitely not enough, considering how much was devoted to 1900-onward. If, like me, the medieval period in Germany is what you're especially interested in, I recommend looking elsewhere.
oicronofobico's review
4.0
The book is not easy to read — I won't critique it for that. The author herself speaks about the difficulty of writing such a book and summarizing the very long story of what we call, now, a country. Even though I will forget most names and dates, It gave me a clear idea of the majority of German happenings, and the essential ideas — that I prefer not to share here — will for sure remain.
paulrules's review
4.0
Pretty good. Very concise, but that is to be expected. A few glaring factual errors loses one star.
hrlukz's review
4.0
As Fulbrook says: books like these are far easier to criticise than write. The bits I know a lot about seemed too concise and oversimplified, the bits I know nothing about seemed too in depth and detailed. So this book probably did its job.
jdintr's review
4.0
Talk about "concise." In just 250 pages, Fulbrook stuffs almost 2,000 years of history, three devastating world wars (I'm including the 30 Years' War as the first), and many other highs and lows.
With that written, these are 250 very dense pages of 9-point font and minimal maps and graphics. It took me awhile to get through this, but I'm glad that I did. I consider myself pretty well-read on German history, but there were a score of new insights provided, particularly on two eras: the Industrial Revoliution from 1810 to 1848, and on the era of divided Germany after the second world war.
For those interested in a deep dive into the history of the Germans--of which the "Germany" of empires and republics makes up 1/13th of that span--or those looking for a handy reference, this concise history is a good history for you.
With that written, these are 250 very dense pages of 9-point font and minimal maps and graphics. It took me awhile to get through this, but I'm glad that I did. I consider myself pretty well-read on German history, but there were a score of new insights provided, particularly on two eras: the Industrial Revoliution from 1810 to 1848, and on the era of divided Germany after the second world war.
For those interested in a deep dive into the history of the Germans--of which the "Germany" of empires and republics makes up 1/13th of that span--or those looking for a handy reference, this concise history is a good history for you.
thndrkat's review against another edition
As someone hoping to learn about a country I was preparing to visit, I did not find most of this book “accessible to the general reader.” Given the title, I was expecting an overview of historical events, but this is more of an overview of different theories and perspectives on the historical events, and it seems to be written while anticipating debate or critique from other academics, which was not what I was looking for.
rubymacbeth's review
informative
slow-paced
3.25
It’s necessarily limited in what it can detail, and in the sections of the medieval ages and confessionalism, assumes things about the culture that are misleading, but is nevertheless a factually useful resource, pointing to wider literature, overall.