3/5

A rather disjointed book attempting to grapple with a disjointed time period, the book is not without its own charm. Sometimes a political history, often a cultural history the text tries to appraise the 1920s in Germany from the perspective of those who lived through it. I agree with some of the authors main assertions about the striking modernity of the 1920s in Germany. An un-mooring from the past that many societies experienced in the 20th century definitely seems to have reached Germany rather abruptly after the collapse of the Empire. The book lacked some clear arguments in my mind, and the conclusion was less memorable than the introduction. I am however struck by the world historical tragedy that was the Great Depression. I think the rise of the NSDAP has to be understood as a by product of the failure of pre-Keynsian economics.