An interesting look at German history from Arminius to the rebuilding of the Stadtschloss as seen through the art and memories of germanophones. Curated by Neil MacGregor, a former Director of the National Gallery, it examines a broad spectra of German objets from coins and tankards to Kollwitz and Barlach; taking the reader from the occasionally humorous to the deeply moving. The book is well illustrated with (probably over 200) monochrome images. My only complaint was the rather grubby print used in this edition; my fingers were black with ink after reading it, although the dozen or so colour plates (mostly maps) were excellent. Hardly a mention of the H-word in the entire volume although I was struck by the image of the Fuehrer reclining in one of those left-wing Bauhaus-style chairs. All in all, well deserving of five stars.

Essential reading - excellent - should be mandatory for schools - I am reading many books at the moment and I haven’t finished this one yet - but the more I read - the better it gets.

I read this book whilst on a short course on The History of Germany. It was a good companion book to other course material. I was particularly interested to read a little more on the Hanseatic League in London in the 16th Century. I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn more on the subject.