"Very informative, interesting, and enjoyable... an excellent primer for anyone seeking to understand the complexities and challenges of the present-day Federal Republic and its unique historical experience and development."History: Review of New Books"An excellent primer to German history since 1945, this book integrates East and West into a single narrative, showing how both states grappled with similar challenges and how their solutions shaped the dynamics of unification. As Germany continues to wrestle with its role in Europe and the world, this book offers essential background to our present." Lauren Stokes, Northwestern University "In this elegant brief history, Andrew I. Port brings to life the movements, ideas and aspirations of East and West Germans since the end of the Second World War. For anyone interested in how history shapes the German present, this is essential reading."Christopher Clark, Regius Professor of History, Cambridge University "An illuminating new history. Andrew I. Port offers a surefooted account of the divergent, yet often parallel, trajectories of the two German states with interpretive skill and narrative ease."Anna von der Goltz, Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University"Andrew Port's new Germany is a thing of beauty and a delight to read. The introduction alone is remarkable for its eloquence and the ground it covers in just 20 pages. It is perfect for undergraduates or for anyone new to the topic or seeking a refresher. Port provides not just a pithy overview, but manages to structure the narrative around German history's "big questions," e.g., Was there a "Sonderweg" (a distinctive path) for Germany after all? How has the yearning for unification shaped German history over the centuries? It is already required reading for our students at the University of Notre Dame (German History Through Film). Port's new Germany will be to this generation what Gordon Craig's The Germans was to mine."William Collins Donaghue, Professor of European Studies, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame"In this excellent book, Port offers a convincing synthesis of postwar German history — elegant, very readable, and accessible to a broad audience, yet rich with questions, answers, and insights that will interest professional historians as well. Drawing on an immense body of literature, Port makes a genuinely rare contribution that establishes important connections between West and East German history and society."Jürgen Kocka, professor emeritus, Free University Berlin; founding director, Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam
