Berlin ─ A Literary Guide for Travellers

"Berlin is a city forever in the process of becoming, never being, and so it lives more powerfully in the imagination." Rory Maclean, 'Berlin—Imagine a City'. Located at the epicentre of some of modern Europe's most significant and turbulent events, Berlin has long held a magnetic attraction for writers. From 19th century authors recording the city's dramatic transition from Prussian Hauptstadt to German capital after 1871 and the modernist intellectuals of the Weimar period, to the resistance writers brave enough to write during the dark years of the Nazi era and those who captured life on both sides of the divided city, a body of literature has emerged that reveals Berlin's ever-shifting identity. Since 1989, Berlin has yet again become a crucible of creativity, serving as both muse and sanctuary for a new generation of writers who regularly claim it as one of the most exciting cities in the world. This unique and engaging book functions as an introduction to some of the finest writing in and about the city, as well as a guide to some of its best sights and vibrant neighbourhoods. Spanning more than 200 years of local life and literature, it features German authors as diverse as E.T.A. Hoffmann, Joseph Roth, Jörg Fauser, and Christa Wolf, as well as a slew of famous international names such as Mark Twain, Philip Hensher and Chloe Aridjis.

Paul Sullivan’s journalism and photography work has been published in a variety of international publications including The Guardian, The Sunday Times, BBC Travel and more. He has written and contributed to over a dozen music and travel books for National Geographic, Time Out, Wallpaper, Rough Guides and Fodors, and runs popular Berlin website www.slowtravelberlin.com, through which he publishes Berlin-themed books and runs cultural-historical tours through the city.Marcel Krueger is a writer and translator whose articles and essays have been published in The Daily Telegraph, Suddeutsche Zeitung, CNN Travel, the Matador Network and more, and who also works as a local Berlin expert or ‘Spotter’ for Spotted by Locals. Marcel divides his time between Berlin, Cologne and Dublin and together with Seamus Heaney, Roddy Doyle and a bunch of other great Irish writers Marcel also holds the world record for 'Most Authors Reading Consecutively From Their Own Books'.