German History: some selections

[jrittenhouse]

Partially for Da, partly for the historians in the audience.  Feel free to whale away on it or suggest other things; I was having real problems with a non-scholarly-to-the-point-0f-boredom book on the German Diaspora, especially to America in the 1800s.   I also skipped a lot of works on regions within Germany.   Yes, I believe that a real

Comments

[princejvstin]

You might like to add New Ulm, MN to the diaspora section. I saw a lot of German architecture while I was there, and of course their memorial to Arminius, aka Hermann the German

[jrittenhouse]

Oh, there's tons of diaspora stuff; a lot of it is very academic stuff in print, however.

[aisb23]

Under the cultural category let me also add Brecht's "Mother Courage" which was an excellent way of showing how the devastation of the Thirty Year's War still affected the German psyche 300 years later.

For straight history I'd also suggest Hajo Holborn's three volume "History of Modern Germany" that covers everything from the Reformation to the end of World War 2 in great detail.

And I've got to agree about Stern's "Gold and Iron", definitely a great book on power and finance in 19th cnetury Germany. Not to mention showing how assimilated most German Jews were into the culture.

Topically tangential

[kurt_erichsen]

On the subject of Kurt Weill: there's a remarkable recording called _Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill_. http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Stars-Music-Kurt-Weill/dp/B000002GH2

It's an anthology of notable songs performed in a wide variety of styles by different performers. Several are performed as written (except translated into English) -- the Ballad of Mac the Knife sung by Sting (By as-written I mean *not* like Bobby Darin) ... The Cannon Song, Ballad of the Solider's Wife, Alabama Song. Particularly stunning are the Youkali Tango by the Armadillo String Quartet and Lost in the Stars as a jazz saxophone number by Carla Bley and Phil Woods. There's even one number done in disco style, and incredible as it may sound, it actually works. The only adaptation I didn't like was Lou Reed's September Song.

Looking at Amazon ... apparently this is a rare and valuable recording?! I think I paid $5 for it.

Re: Topically tangential

[jrittenhouse]

I've heard it; I loved Sting's Moritat, but there's unevenness elsewhere (as you note).