Germania: In Wayward Pursuit of the Germans & Their History

Germania – Simon Winder

The German-American ethnicity disappeared during the war frenzy that accompanied US entry into World War I. We in the born-in-the-Fifties generation know the Germans as victims, bystanders or perps during the Hitler time. And there our knowledge stops. According to English writer Simon Winder, the British are not much more familiar with that serious presence in Middle Europe.

Winder developed his interest in the Germans and their country when he was only a child. Since then he has read widely in German history and travelled extensively to out of the way spots that have preserved pre-1914 Germany. This wonderful book is approximately 75% popular history and 25% travelogue. In chronological order, he covers the German-speaking peoples from the Holy Roman Empire to 1933 (after which he feels his “facetious anecdotes” are inappropriate). Winder discusses, among many other topics, food, castles, landscapes, writers, and mad local aristocrats. His writing is accessible and often quite funny.

However wonderful Winder’s British way with words, the only drawbacks also relate to language. He overuses adjectives, especially “disgusting,” “dopey,” and “delusive.” An editor should’ve checked his excessive use of “It’s impossible not to imagine…” and “It’s hard not to imagine ….” An attentive proofreader should’ve saved him from “interned” for “interred” and the embarrassing “bale” in “bail out,” and “overweaning” for “overweening.”

Still, any reader curious about Germany’s overall history but not up to more serious historical writing would have an entertaining and informative time with this book.