Berlin Rising: Biography of a City

by Anthony Read, David Fisher

Traces Berlin's history from Holy Roman Empire times to its post-Cold War reunification, describing the extraordinary personalities--from Hohenzollern rulers to artists and performers--who directed its fate and the waves of immigrants who repeatedly transformed it.

Genres: History, Germany, Nonfiction

341 pages, Hardcover

First published January 20, 1994

About the author

Anthony "Tony" Read (born 21 April 1935) was a British script editor, television writer and author. He was principally active in British television from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, although he occasionally contributed to televised productions until 1999. Starting in the 1980s, he launched a second career as a print author, concentrating largely on World War II histories. Since 2004 he regularly wrote prose fiction, mainly in the form of a revival of his popular 1983 television show, The Baker Street Boys.

Reviews

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that gets better with time. A second read yielded much more than the first time. While preparing for a visit to Berlin, the last was twenty years ago, I picked up Read and Fisher's History again and was by turns beguiled, enchanted and amused. It just goes to show that despite all the vicissitudes, it is true to say that Berlin bleibt doch Berlin! Still one of my favourite cities.

[severyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scattershot, but at least it remembers Berlin existed before the 20th century.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book before a tour of Berlin. It definitely served its purpose, covering several hundred years of Berlin history in approximately 300 pages. The book is easy to read. It is a good introduction - it covers a lot of time, but not in depth. The major flaw is it ends in the early 90's, describing plans for rebuilding East Berlin, but not what actually happened.

[Mansoor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is good as travel guide to some of the landmarks in Berlin but as a social history it is severely lacking. The critique of Berliners as people who love and love to mock their autocrats wears increasingly thin as one continues to read.