'A delightful read... Kampfner's book, with its flurry of anecdotes and observations, captures [Berlin's] sense of disorder. He refuses to define a city that has never been able to define itself, instead presenting readers with the city's infinitely captivating mayhem.' -- Katja Hoyer * The Times *
A masterful portrait of one of the world's greatest cities. John Kampfner captures the many histories of Berlin - the joys and the beauties, the horrors and the suffering, the divisions and the dreams. A must-read. -- Peter Frankopan
Berlin may well be Europe's most enigmatic city and John Kampfner - curious, sceptical and with an eye for the arresting detail - is the ideal guide. -- Jonathan Freedland, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Escape Artist
John Kampfner is an ideal guide to Berlin, its history and people, in this tour de force -- Orlando Figes
No-one is better qualified than John Kampfner to write about Berlin - that living palimpsest of German, and thus European, history. His knowledge is both deep - historical, analytical - and wide, drawn from a large diaspora of knowledgeable contacts. One of Europe's foremost intellectuals, Kampfner is also incapable of writing a dull sentence, which allows this book to succeed as history, travel book, autobiography, treatise and love-letter. * Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny *
Modern Germany is one of the political wonders of the world and John Kampfner one of its finest interpreters. It is a delight to have the two come together in this fascinating book. -- Daniel Finkelstein, the Sunday Times bestselling author of Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad
This book will have you hurrying back to one of the most fascinating cities on earth. John Kampfner is a brilliant guide as he excavates layer after layer of Berlin's 800-year history, as it lurches from destruction to decadence, from horror to hope. A gripping, rich read full of personal anecdote seamlessly interwoven with scholarly detail. -- Julie Etchingham
A brilliant but vexing love affair with a city that gets under the skin. Kampfner eloquently captures Berlin - a place of perpetual reinvention, lurid dreams, grotesque nightmares and impossible ideas. Rarely is scratching an itch as much fun as it is in Berlin. -- Matt Frei
A beautifully researched, thoughtful and personal examination of Berlin's history. Sometimes it needs the perspective of an outsider to see a place clearly. -- Annette Dittert
Excellent and provocative * The Sunday Times on Why The Germans Do It Better *
One of the best English-language introductions in recent years to modern Germany and its politics: thoughtful, deeply reported and impeccably even-handed * The Times on Why the Germans Do it Better *
Highly readable and well-informed... [Kampfner] mixes historical sweep with vivid reporting to celebrate Germany's strengths and achievements * Financial Times on Why the Germans Do it Better *
With insights based on painstaking research and evidence gleaned from months crisscrossing the country... Kampfner's analysis is simply peerless * Literary Review on Why the Germans Do it Better *
One of Britain's most distinguished political writers * Mail on Sunday on Why the Germans Do it Better *
Kampfner roams widely in Germany and has a reporter's ear for the telling anecdote. He knows his history too -- Lionel Barber * The Spectator on Why the Germans Do it Better *
