The Ghosts of Berlin: Confronting German History in the Urban Landscape [Hardcover]

Brian Ladd (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226467619 | ISBN-13: 978-0226467610 | Publication Date: May 15, 1997 | Edition: 1

In this compelling work, Brian Ladd examines the ongoing conflicts radiating from the remarkable fusion of architecture, history, and national identity in Berlin. Ladd surveys the urban landscape, excavating its ruins, contemplating its buildings and memorials, and carefully deconstructing the public debates and political controversies emerging from its past.

"Written in a clear and elegant style, The Ghosts of Berlin is not just another colorless architectural history of the German capital. . . . Mr. Ladd's book is a superb guide to this process of urban self-definition, both past and present."—Katharina Thote, Wall Street Journal

"If a book can have the power to change a public debate, then The Ghosts of Berlin is such a book. Among the many new books about Berlin that I have read, Brian Ladd's is certainly the most impressive. . . . Ladd's approach also owes its success to the fact that he is a good storyteller. His history of Berlin's architectural successes and failures reads entertainingly like a detective novel."—Peter Schneider, New Republic

"[Ladd's] well-written and well-illustrated book amounts to a brief history of the city as well as a guide to its landscape."—Anthony Grafton, New York Review of Books

 

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Ladd (Urban Planning and Civic Order in Germany, 1860-1914, Harvard Univ., 1990) approaches the new Germany and its handling of memory in an interesting manner. Memory, Ladd points out, also extends to the urban landscape. The leaders of the new Berlin have begun massive architectural projects to restore the capital to its former greatness. To build this future, however, they must see the past. Can a new Berlin be built on the ruins of Hitler's bunker, asks the author? Ladd covers a number of architectural features in Berlin and the many political controversies arising from its past. For example, what should be done about the Berlin Wall? Ladd makes the point that Berlin's buildings are indeed some of the ghosts haunting the city. A valuable addition to academic libraries.?Dennis L. Noble, North Olympic Lib. Sys., Port Angeles, Wash.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

With erudition, insight and restraint, Brian Ladd ... carries off the dangerous task of analyzing architecture and urbanism in the once and future capital of Germany in terms of its horrific political past. He convincingly argues that architecture embodies ideological meaning more powerfully than other artifacts of a society. -- The New York Times Book Review, Martin Filler

Product Details

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (May 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226467619
• ISBN-13: 978-0226467610
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,448,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget the guide books! Take this instead!, January 15, 2003

By 

agtpeach (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ghosts of Berlin: Confronting German History in the Urban Landscape (Paperback)

This book was on the short list of texts my German language/culture study abroad course required. As far as the architectural culture went, this book was all you needed to taste the essence of the capital. It was better than any guide book out there, especially relating the tulmultuous past with what you were seeing with your own eyes as an urban landscape.

Berlin is complex, historically and culturally - from its imperialist days to Hitler's capital to the scarred divided city just now seaming together. Germany is the embodiment of ambiguity - which is made abundantly evident by its very structures throughout the wide city. Brian Ladd's photography is unobtrusive and tasteful, illustrating his thoroughly researched work. He compares an old photograph to one taken recently by him to study, at one point, how unchanged some parts of the city have been in the midst of constant upheaval in the last century.

It is remarkable how entertaining the book is, as well as its vitality in its examination of Berlin. It was, quite simply, such a pleasure to read. The Ghosts of Berlin takes in the large picture, of a country uniting, political ideologies - past and present, and the significance of massive structures - standing and ruined. It also encompasses details in exquisite ordinariness, like street corners, department stores, and public transportation. All this is told in an appealing style that is accessible (so you don't need any background in Germany or Berlin), but not overly casual (Ladd is informed and comprehensive).

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A city comes to terms with its past, June 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ghosts of Berlin: Confronting German History in the Urban Landscape (Paperback)

This is a brilliant book that looks at a remarkable city after the fall of the Berlin Wall and asks the question: How to come to terms with the monuments of the past? The Brandenburg Gate? Hitler's Bunker, etc. Should they be torn down, the stories they embody erased? Or should they stand as a legacy of German culture, however tainted it may be. A remarkable book about a remarkable city. Do read it.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love Berlin, this is a must book to read, August 4, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ghosts of Berlin: Confronting German History in the Urban Landscape (Hardcover)

Brian Ladd helps the reader to look at Berlin's many monuments and buildings from a critical point of view. He helps one realize that there is more to a city stone and cement. After reading this, you can never again look at any city, Berlin in particular, the same