Things are not going well in the West. Anglo-Saxon powers, both large and small, are resorting to fantasies of past glories. Throughout Europe, populists are dueling against immigration and globalization, attributing these phenomena to a malicious "system," controlled invisibly by transnational centers.

Behind the walls of the Kremlin, Putin sees his plans on the right track; his neighbors, both the Baltic countries and the so-called Visegrad countries, have their reasons to worry and to look towards Berlin. But are the Germans like us other Westerners, or are they something different?

This question remains partly unanswered, although more than two thousand years have passed since it was first raised. How Roman did Germania ultimately become according to Latin writers? Were the Germans adversaries or heirs of Roman culture?

When did they first expand eastward? Did they ever truly become dominant in territories beyond the Elbe? How did the power vacuum in Germany, at the heart of Europe, arise for several centuries? How was Prussia born? Did Bismarck unify Germany, or did he simply conquer it?

What are the roots of Hitler and the Third Reich? Why was Germany defeated in World War II? How did it rise from its ashes? Was there truly a German economic miracle?

Is Germany, indeed, tending to become the last bastion of the West in areas such as economic prosperity and the resilience of democratic institutions? Is the European Union and the euro merely a cover for a new German hegemony in Europe?

A vibrant, concise, and groundbreaking history of a country that some admire and others fear. With approximately 100 maps and images.

“An excellent and captivating overview of Germany’s history, from the Iron Age to Angela Merkel’s chancellorship.” New European

“A remarkable guide to such a dense field as the history of Germany.” Times