'Beautifully conceived and marvellously researched. I haven't read a better book on Berlin.' Gordon A. Craig

In Berlin, history is tangible. The sense of the past - of Europe, of Germany, and of the 20th-century's myths, depravities, idealism and horror - hangs in the air around the old Hinterhofs and deserted railway stations. No other city has played such a part in the tides of 20th-century European affairs.

'Faust's Metropolis' follows the rich and inspiring history of this city: from the revolutionary fervour of its teeming slums, the insufferable pomp of Imperial Berlin, and the frantic modernism of Weimar to the brutality of the Nazis and the symbolic defeat of Communism as the Wall came down. Writing superbly of Berlin's role as a crucible of change, Alexandra Richie reveals herself as an extraordinary new talent.

About the Author

Alexandra Richie wrote this book while a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. She has lived and worked in both East and West Berlin and in the unified capital, and wrote her Oxford doctorate on the history of the city. Her family has been linked to Berlin since the fourteenth century. She is currently researching and writing on German-Russian history. This is her first book.

Reviews

'Thoroughgoing and engrossing. Modern Berlin was the hub of commerce, centre stage for politics, mecca for high culture, and a haven for extravagance and eccentricity. Alexandra Richie controls all this material superbly.' Peter Gay

'A wide-ranging book, full of fascinating detail, and compellingly written.' Robert Conquest

'A unique combination of an analysis of Berlin with a study of the entire history of Germany and of Germany's problems of national and linguistic self-definition.' Harold James

Book Information
ISBN 9780006376880
Author Alexandra Richie
Format Paperback
Page Count 1168
Imprint HarperCollins
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 1130g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 153mm * 39mm