The Shortest History of Germany ― From Julius Caesar to Angela Merkel Retelling for Our Times

An internationally bestselling, fresh, and entertaining take on the 2,000-year history of Germany—a country at the heart of the West’s survival

As the West grapples with the rise of populism, some cite Germany as one of the last global powers capable of restoring Europe’s fading glory and upholding Western liberal values seemingly under threat around the world. But how did Germany get here? How did it rebuild in the tragic aftermath of WWII? What about Germany allowed for the rise of Nazism in the first place? And what can we learn from the history of a people who did not develop a modern nation until 1871? 

James Hawes answers all these questions and more. With over 100 maps, images, and diagrams, The Shortest History of Germany locates the true roots of the horrors of Nazi Germany in a way that no book has done before, and it shows how an ancient Roman divide—the Limes Germanicus—has fundamentally defined not only German history, but also the Germany we think we know today.

James Hawes studied German at Hertford College, Oxford, and UCL, followed by lectureships in German literature, history, and culture at the universities of Maynooth, Sheffield, and Swansea. His eight previous books include Speak for England and Englanders and Huns, which was shortlisted for the 2015 Political Books of the Year Awards. He leads the MA in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes University.