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Berlin’s convoluted history has proven fertile ground for several fictional and academic literary works. Faust’s Metropolis by Alexandra Richie is an exhaustive tome exploring the city’s origins through its most turbulent periods up to its latest role as the new capital of modern Germany.
Berlin has repeatedly been a huge petri dish for experiments in architecture, and Brian Ladd’s The Ghosts of Berlin looks at the city’s history through the prism of its urban landscape. British historian Antony Beevor has written Berlin: The Downfall 1945 examining the harrowing time when the Red Army was at the city’s gates. If you’re interested in learning more about East Germany’s notorious secret police, pick up Stasiland by Anna Funder.
As for fiction, some of Christopher Isherwood’s work draws on his own experiences in the waning days of the decadent Weimar Republic, and Philip Kerr’s Berlin Noir is a collection of three atmospheric mysteries set in the city. If your German is up to it, check out Ich bin kein Berliner by Wladimir Kaminer and Gebrauchs Anweisung für Berlin by Jakob Hein for entertaining takes on modern life in the city.
Berlin has repeatedly been a huge petri dish for experiments in architecture, and Brian Ladd’s The Ghosts of Berlin looks at the city’s history through the prism of its urban landscape. British historian Antony Beevor has written Berlin: The Downfall 1945 examining the harrowing time when the Red Army was at the city’s gates. If you’re interested in learning more about East Germany’s notorious secret police, pick up Stasiland by Anna Funder.
As for fiction, some of Christopher Isherwood’s work draws on his own experiences in the waning days of the decadent Weimar Republic, and Philip Kerr’s Berlin Noir is a collection of three atmospheric mysteries set in the city. If your German is up to it, check out Ich bin kein Berliner by Wladimir Kaminer and Gebrauchs Anweisung für Berlin by Jakob Hein for entertaining takes on modern life in the city.
