Reuben Hoar Library (Littleton)

Germania, in wayward pursuit of the Germans and their history, Simon Winder

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 443-450) and index

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Germania

bibliography

429024675

Simon Winder

in wayward pursuit of the Germans and their history

"Germania" explores how people are misled by history, how they twist history, and how sometimes it is best to know no history at all. The work is full of curiosities, odd food, castles, mad princes, and fairy tales--the unseen sides of Germany

'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 search of a bit of sunshine -- Thrust to the east -- Chapter Three -- Walled towns -- Other superiority complexes -- A brief note on political structures -- 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 surprise 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 -- Pursches and suspenders -- '5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... ' -- The death of science -- Terminal throes -- Ending -- Conclusion -- In the hills -- Mendel's statue -- Death by oompah