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Germania
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Germania (2010) (edit title/settings)

In Wayward Pursuit of Germans and Their History

by Simon Winder (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

A UNIQUE EXPLORATION OF GERMAN CULTURE, FROM SAUSAGE ADVERTISEMENTS TO WAGNER Sitting on a bench at a communal table in a restaurant in Regensburg, his plate loaded with disturbing amounts of bratwurst and sauerkraut made golden by candlelight shining through a massive glass of beer,... read more

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “So some fifty years after Elizabeth Stuart's death everything at last went right for her.”
    Simon Winder
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  • Weber’s famously idiotic The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism assigned specific virtues to
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  • Tacitus’ On the Origin and Situation of the Germans, the Germania,
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  • The most famous ruin left by the French remains the picturesque shell of the Heidelberg Palace,
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First Sentence edit see section history

There can be few better times to think about the myths of the ancient origins of Germany than when listening to the second act Prelude to Siegfried.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Maps
Introduction I
'Bound with chains of flowers' >> a note on Germany and German
Chapter One
From the land of gloomy forests>>Roman Germans>>An alligator far from home>>I'll have some green sauce with that>>The medieval car park
Chapter Two
Ancient palaces>>Charles the Great>>Pious, Bald or Fat>>A very small town>>Spreading the Word>>In searchof a bit of sunshine>>Thrust to the east
Chapter Three
Walled towns>>Other superiority complexes>>A brief note on political sructures>>German tribes>>Famine and plague>>Where a million diamonds shine
Chapter Four
The tideless sea>>The curse of Burgundy>>Happy families>>Rampant folk costume>> Imperial circles>>Habsburgs
Chapter Five
Spires, turrets and towers>>A birthplace and a death-house>> The devil's bagpipes>>The ruler of the world>>The New Jerusalem>>An unhappy wine merchant
Chapter Six
The Golden City of the Faithful>>The land where lemon blossom grows>>Black armour>>The King of Sweden's horse>>A surprise visit from an asteroid
Chapter Seven
Hourglasses and bird-eating spiders>>'Music to Escort the Dead from this Life'>>In the time of powdered wigs>>Damascened yataghans>>'Burn the Palatinate!'>>Catholicism goes for broke
Chapter Eight
The descendants of Cyrus the Great>>Drinking chocolate with ostriches>>More competitive tomb-building>>Chromatic fantasia and fugue>>The Strong and the Fat
Chapter Nine
Little Sophie Zerbst>>Parks and follies>>In the footsteps of Goethe>>A glass pyramid filled with robin eggs>>A surprise appearance by a sea cow>>German victimhood>>Good-value chicken
Chapter Ten
Marches militaires>>Karl and Albrecht>>Girls in turrets>>Heroic acorns>>Victory columns
Chapter Eleven
The grandeur and misery of nationalism>>Snow-shake particularism>>A surpise trip to Mexico
Chapter Twelve
Lambs and ladybirds>>Jigsaw country>>Hunting masters>>Ruritania, Syldavia and their friends>>An absence
Chapter Thirteen
Beside the seaside>>Texan Wends>> Pidgin German>>Thomas and Ernie>>Podsnap in Berlin>>Varieties of militarism
Chapter Fourteen
Failure>>The British-German divorce>>Disaster>>Defeat and revolution>>Remembering the dead>>Some royal aftershocks
Chapter Fifteen
An unattractive lake>>Putsches and suspenders>>'5,4,3,2,1...'>>The death of science>>Terminal throes>>Ending
Conclusion
In the hills>>Mendel's statue>>Death by oompah
Bibliography
Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Index

Glossary edit see section history

  • Germania: To Tacitus, it simply meant an area of un-Roman people, split into numerous tribes, often at odds with one another and addicted to fighting and feasting.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Simon Winder (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: Add the language.
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-25400-1
Page Count: 466

Classification edit see section history

Popular Tags
  1. archaeology, 
  2. germans, 
  3. germany, 
  4. history, 
  5. non-fiction, 
  6. reference, 
  7. travel 

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