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A Most Dangerous Book: Tacitus's Germania From The Roman Empire To The Third Reich (2011)

by Christopher B. Krebs(Favorite Author)

3.58 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0393062651 (ISBN13: 9780393062656)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: This was an interesting geneaology of the classical Roman author Tacitus's work that depicted the Germanic tribes beyond Rome's borders. It examines the work in its own cultural context and as part of Tacitus's oeuvre, then traces the (mis)readings and (mis)uses of it by a range of scholars, nationalists, and ultimately Nazis since its Renaissance rediscovery. These often invoked the work to justify their own positions and aspirations in the political and cultural developments of their own days, providing a cautionary tale about the pitfalls and possibilities that accompany attempts to make the past relevant not only to the present but to the future. Although written accessibly by a Harvard scholar, it did become dry at times - but had a few dashes of intrigue and exciteme... morent, too.
review 2: Fascinating look at how words can be used and distorted throughout centuries to support ideologies. What I loved too, being a word and book geek, is seeing how the various names of ancient German gods/progenitors became reshaped into modern languages' words for the country or its citizens, and how amazing it is that a 33-page book written in the time of Roman Emperor Nero even survives nearly 2000 years, let alone influences thousands of people and in a real sense eventually contributes to the deaths of millions. less

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