Anyone who strives to 'understand' Germany should take the time to wander through this book. Like MacGregor, I remain bewildered by the historical positioning of its humanism and authoritarianism. Buchenwald lay in the woods where Goethe strolled. How could the great humanistic traditions of Germany have become perverted into unimaginable cruelty? MacGregor doesn't answer the question, but he does offer plenty of food for thought.

With fascinating detours to Luther, Gutenberg, Weimar and the rise (and fall) of the Holy Roman Empire the book balances the old and the new. The chapters on Friedrichstrasse Station, the Bauhaus, the Volkswagen Beetle, and the ebbs and flows of German art; it is hard to argue that there is a more appropriate method than the careful juxtaposition of singular objects with their surrounding history for conveying the complexities of Germany’s continuing journey away from a shameful past.

I really enjoyed this book, and it has given me an awful hankering to get back to Germany and explore it all again. Magnificent!