A Concise History of Germany (Cambridge Concise Histories) - Softcover

Fulbrook, Mary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521368367 ISBN 13: 9780521368360

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1991

Synopsis

This book aims to provide a clear and informative guide to the twists and turns of German history from the early middle ages to the present day. The multi-faceted, problematic history of the German lands has provoked a wide range of debates and differences of interpretation. Dr Fulbrook provides a crisp synthesis of a vast array of historical material, and explores the interrelationships between social, political and cultural factors in the light of scholarly controversies. German history is renowned for it peculiarities and paradoxes. The land of Luther, Bach and Goethe is also the land of Hitler and the Holocaust. The 'land in the centre of Europe' played a pivotal role in the European balance of power, yet never found a satisfactory identity or even stable boundaries. For centuries, the loose framework of the 'Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation', dominated by the Austrian Habsburgs, permitted a myriad of social and political forms and cultural traditions. With late, rapid industrialisation and unification of a Prussian-dominated 'small' Germany, domestic tensions contributed to the unleashing century, the status of a divided Germany echoed, refracted, and had implications for wider developments and divisions across the world. Only recently has the breaching of the Berlin Wall and the breathtaking rapid unification of the two germanies marked a dramatic new beginning in German history and the international order. This is the only single-volume history of Germany in English which offers a broad, general coverage of the main themes and topics. It will therefore be essential reading for all students of German, European studies and history, and will be a helpful guide to general readers, members of the business community and travellers to Germany.

About this title

About the Author

Mary Fulbrook is Professor of German History, University College London.

From Library Journal

Fulbrook (University Coll., London) prefaces her concise history with the fretful expectation that "attempts to compress over a thousand years of highly complex history into a brief volume will . . . provoke squeals of protest from . . . specialists." Well, perhaps from specialists, but not from the average reader. True, the medieval centuries are dispatched summarily, but a more leisured pace leads us through the modern era to early 1990. No particular ideological stance colors the presentation, and judicious references to the various interpretations of other historians balance the account. The text is adorned nicely with 41 illustrations and 13 maps, and a "highly selective" bibliography of some 150 recent titles in English. This is a beginner's volume, a good one. The curious will need to go on for the rich detail that can make history interesting. Recommended for public libraries.
- James B. Street, Santa Cruz P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0521368367
• ISBN 13: 9780521368360
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 281