A Concise History of Germany

By: Mary Fulbrook

Narrated by: Nick McArdle

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

This audiobook provides a clear and informative guide to the twists and turns of German history from the early Middle Ages to the present day. The multifaceted, problematic history of the German lands has furnished a wide range of debates and differences of interpretation. Mary Fulbrook provides a crisp synthesis of a vast array of historical material and explores the interrelationships between social, political, and cultural factors in the light of scholarly controversies.

First published in 1990, A Concise History of Germany is the only single-volume history of Germany in English that offers broad, general coverage. It has become standard reading for English-speaking students of German, European studies, and history, and it is a useful guide to general learners, members of the business community, and travelers to Germany.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©1991 Cambridge University Press (P)2019 Naxos AudioBooks

I finished this book...

and I think it is a worthy contender for one of the best books on the subject. For those who listen to books primarily for entertainment (like myself), understand first that summarizing such a vast, academic subject is necessarily a dry read. Some subjects within can come off as tedious, and occasional moments of confusion may ensue, for instance, when many political party names are being dropped in what is meant to be a clear, concise explanation. This is to be expected from an academic read that doesn't pause to ask if you have heard of Goethe or the Treaty of Versailles: it is a summary, after all!

The book's strengths lie in the author's command of the subject and indeed of her whole field of historical study. Not only are facts presented in an orderly fashion, but dispassionate interpretations of them (and criticisms of popular misunderstandings) are presented with clarity. As a novice in historical inquiry, I felt like I was watching a clockmaker carefully handle and examine what I had moments before tossed in her direction. The author's close examination of German society under regimes like Nazism or Soviet communism, the comparison of medieval and renaissance developments in Europe, and the topic of the French Revolution were all so elucidating.

After finishing this excellent "concise" history, I hope to continue to learn about the topic. Perhaps my high opinion of this book will mellow as I read other histories of Germany, but I consider this for now to be an excellent introduction.

Really dry

I did learn things but it was a hard listen. Really dry. The narrator put me to sleep.

Good, but Overwhelming Focuses on Modern History

The book was very informative. But the first part is so concise that it is hard to hold on to anything being said. You fly from one century to the next without realizing it. The book slows down at the Reformation, and then really slows down at the lead up to the World Wars. These parts are very informative. These flaws however are probably unavoidable in a book this length and a project so big.

Thoughtful, very informative, excellent narration

Excellent, thoughtful, in depth presentation of German history and highbquality narration. I listened to it, bought the Kindle edition and listened to it again!

A Quick History

The vast history of Germany is a rare book to come upon. I had to be grateful to find at least this one. It’s a good, if liberal, history of the country through the ages. Since it is concise it does get to be dry, with fact after fact taking some of the color out of it. I’m glad I listened to the book, and will probably need to listen again.

Dry and hard to follow

I could not get into this book and was unable to finish it to the end. It started with names and places that I was not familiar and there was no story line or delving into development of the characters that would link the history. This book would benefit from adding a PDF map.