Germania by Simon Winder

Germania by Simon Winder

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, Simon Winder was happily swinging his legs when a couple from Rottweil politely but awkwardly asked: So: why are you here? This book is an attempt to answer that question. Why spend time wandering around a country that remains a sort of dead zone for many foreigners, surrounded as it is by a force field of historical, linguistic, climatic, and gastronomic barriers? Winder's book is propelled by a wish to reclaim the brilliant, chaotic, endlessly varied German civilization that the Nazis buried and ruined, and that, since 1945, so many Germans have worked to rebuild. Germania is a very funny book on serious topics-how we are misled by history, how we twist history, and how sometimes it is best to know no history at all. It is a book full of curiosities: odd food, castles, mad princes, fairy tales, and horse-mating videos. It is about the limits of language, the meaning of culture, and the pleasure of townscape.

Winder, Simon: - Simon Winder is the author of the highly praised The Man Who Saved Britain and a trilogy of books about the history of Central Europe--the Sunday Times (London) Top Ten Bestseller Germania, Danubia, and Lotharingia. He works in publishing and lives in Wandsworth Town, London.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780374254001
ISBN 10	0374254001
Title	Germania
Author	Simon Winder
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Farrar Straus Giroux
Year published	2010-03-16
Number of pages	466
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable