The Cambridge Illustrated History of Germany (Cambridge Illustrated Histories) [Paperback]

Martin Kitchen (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cambridge Illustrated Histories | Publication Date: September 4, 2000

The Cambridge Illustrated History of Germany presents a richly illustrated, integrated, chronological account of German history from Charlemagne to the modern era. Written in a lively, accessible manner for a general audience by a leading academic expert, this book is unique in its authority, approach and scope. Martin Kitchen focuses particularly on the German people - their culture and society. In this way he illuminates and puts into perspective the country's political history, from its origins as a collection of small, German-speaking states to its present-day status as a major European and world power. In special illustrated boxes and panels throughout the book, he reveals the great cultural and intellectual contribution Germans have made to the world through the works of figures such as Martin Luther, Bach, Kant, Wagner, and Gropius.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA. A history of Germany from the days of Julius Caesar to the Reunification in the 1990s. Because it is a survey of 2000 years of history, no subject is treated in detail. Each chapter covers an era and briefly discusses the major political, economic, and military events and their impact on the country. The book is lavishly illustrated with full-color prints, maps, and period photographs. An extensive reading list for each chapter is included; unfortunately, many of the books recommended are in German.?Robert Burnham, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

A splendidly written narrative, this glossy volume can attract the attention of new students and veteran scholars of the wild ups and downs of German history. Aided by a plethora of color images, Kitchen exerts his appeal by keeping before the reader the abiding questions of the country's identity: who is a German, and where is Germany? Answering these questions, Kitchen delivers an interpretive accounting of political structures from the Holy Roman Empire to the latest reunified state. Necessarily simplifying without being simplistic, the author touches the essentials that have shaped, and haunted, the country: Luther, the Reformation, the Thirty Years War, the ascendance of Prussia, the Napoleonic impact, and the disasters of the twentieth century. All is not goose-stepping and war, though. Kitchen encapsulates in illustrated sidebars the Germans' signal cultural achievements in music, painting, and literature, spanning such varied artists as Bach and Grosz. With such breadth combined with depth in the crucial periods, Kitchen offers libraries an excellent resource. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (September 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521794323
• ISBN-13: 978-0521794329
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,134,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superbly presented, single volume history, April 27, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cambridge Illustrated History of Germany (Cambridge Illustrated Histories) (Paperback)

The latest addition to the outstanding "Cambridge Illustrated History" series, Martin Kitchen's Germany presents a lavishly illustrated, integrated, chronological history of Germany from the era of Charlemagne down through the end of the twentieth century and German reunification. Here is a compendium of the culture, society, political organization, national tragedies and personal triumphs of the German people. Special illustrated boxes and panels enrich the informative, "reader friendly" text throughout and provides a superbly presented, single volume history that is a welcome addition to academic and community library world history collections.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, December 11, 2000

By 

"tokarski" (Purdue University) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cambridge Illustrated History of Germany (Cambridge Illustrated Histories) (Paperback)

I had to use this book for a class on German history. Although it was not required material for the class, the wealth of information helped me keep a handle of the flow of the nation's history. This book is rich in pictures and is one of the best books that I have ever seen on German history. Highly recomended.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Germany by a German, March 13, 2001

By 

Alex Lukic "cool_book_man" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cambridge Illustrated History of Germany (Cambridge Illustrated Histories) (Paperback)

This text should not be demoted to decorating a living room's coffee table because of its "Cambridge" denomination and fancy pictures. Some of these "decoration" books do contain excellent write ups. Ignoring Mr. Kitchen's dissertation on the history of Germany would be at your own peril if you own the book already and, except for martini stains and dust, choose to ignore it. This history of Germany explains in a fascinatingly succint style key aspects of the German nation and German ethos: the Holy Roman Empire, the Hanseatic League, the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution and, inevitably, the Third Reich and the Holocaust. There are excellent art and culture sections describing anything from Goethe's Romantic world and the Grimm Brothers' fantastic tales to the Bauhaus. If you want to own a book to impress your friends, buy it, but buy it mostly to be impressed by it.