Now capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, Berlin rose from insignificant origins on swampy soil, becoming a city of immigrants over the ages. Through a series of ten vignettes, Mary Fulbrook discusses the periods and regimes that shaped its character – whether Prussian militarism; courtly culture and enlightenment; rapid industrialisation and expansion; ambitious imperialism; experiments with democracy; or repressive dictatorships of both right and left, dramatically evidenced in the violence of World War and genocide, and then in the Wall dividing Cold War Berlin. This book also presents Berlin's distinctive history as firmly rooted in specific places and sites. Statues and memorials have been erected and demolished, plaques displayed and displaced, and streets named and renamed in recurrent cycles of suppression or resurrection of heroes and remembrance of victims. This vivid and engaging introduction thus reveals Berlin's startling transformations and contested legacies through ten moments from critical points in its multi-layered history.

‘With characteristic erudition and range, Mary Fulbrook presents a biography of her Lieblingsstadt, Berlin. This ambitious, concise book spans nine centuries, zooming in on key moments to illustrate the ‘ambiguous appeal’ of a city that is ‘forever becoming’ and elucidate a social and political history in which nothing is predetermined.’

Doris Bergen - author of Between God and Hitler: Military Chaplains in Nazi Germany

‘Mary Fulbrook vividly captures how Berlin came to be made and re-made right up to the present day, reflecting throughout on how Berliners experienced and shaped their urban environment. She deftly interweaves the story of devastating and spectacular moments in the city’s history with insights into its unique landscape of remembrance.’

Elizabeth Harvey - author of Women and the Nazi East: Agents and Witnesses of Germanization

‘A gripping historical biography of Berlin from one of our great scholars of German history. Mary Fulbrook magnificently evokes the unmistakable yet stubbornly enigmatic spirit of this protean city, with its epic contradictions and endless powers of self-invention.’

Simon May - author of How To Be A Refugee