Germany in the world; a global history 1500-2000

Title of the book: Germany in the world; a global history 1500-2000

Author: David Blackbourn 

Publisher: Live right 

Publishing Date: 2023 

ISBN: 978-1-63149-183-2

Summary:

Brilliantly conceived and majestically written, this monumental work of European history recasts the five-hundred-year history of Germany. With Germany in the World, award-winning historian David Blackbourn radically revises conventional narratives of German history, demonstrating the existence of a distinctly German presence in the world centuries before its unification―and revealing a national identity far more complicated than previously imagined. Blackbourn traces Germany’s evolution from the loosely bound Holy Roman Empire of 1500 to a sprawling colonial power to a twenty-first-century beacon of democracy. Viewed through a global lens, familiar landmarks of German history―the Reformation, the Revolution of 1848, the Nazi regime―are transformed, while others are unearthed and explored, as Blackbourn reveals Germany’s leading role in creating modern universities and its sinister involvement in slave-trade economies. A global history for a global age, Germany in the World is a bold and original account that upends the idea that a nation’s history should be written as though it took place entirely within that nation’s borders. 35 illustrations; 5 maps

Author Info:
(From goodreads) 

N/A

Personal Opinion:

I think that I expected a little something different than what I got: I expected a German history that talked from domestic angle rather than international angle. The writing is definitely dense, and it had very long chapters as well as sections. I don't have a lot of knowledge of Europe post 1300s, (not until WWI) and I had high hopes that I will get the gritty details of wars and kings as well as social life during those tumultuous times. Instead the focus was on Germans in different parts of the world as well as the impact they had, which was very fascinating in my opinion. A few times the Jews are mentioned, but one thing wasn't addressed; in my American Jewish history class, I was told that Jewish men were conscripted into the army, which is why they went to America in the first place, but oddly enough, no mention of that particular event in the book. Despite mg nitpicking there are good parts of the book, namely how and why Germans look at Eastern Europeans the way they do, thousands of scientific contributions that Germans gave to the world, and I definitely loved seeing 20th century from Germans point of view rather than USA or UK.  I am of mixed thoughts about whether or not the author had a successful argument because I am not certain of what the main argument was: my main takeaway was the outsize influence Germany had on other nations and people. 

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)