Walking in Berlin - A Flaneur in the Capital

Originally published in Germany in 1929, Hessel captures the rhythm of Weimar-era Berlin, Today, many years after the Nazi era and the postwar reconstruction that followed, the areas visited are all still prominent and interesting. From the Alexanderplatz to Kreuzberg, his record of them has become priceless. As fresh today as when it first appeared, this is a book to be savoured.

About the author

Franz Hessel was born in 1880 to a Jewish banking family, and grew up in Berlin. After studying in Munich, he lived in Paris, moving in artistic circles in both cities. His relationship with the fashion journalist Helen Grund was the inspiration for Henri-Pierre Roche's novel and, later, Francois Truffaut's film Jules et Jim. Their son Stéphane went on to become a diplomat and author of the worldwide bestselling Indignez-Vous! (Time for Outrage!). He also co-translated Proust with Walter Benjamin, as well as works by Casanova, Stendhal, and Balzac. Franz Hessel died in early 1941, shortly after his release from an internment camp.

Summary

Take a walk around 1920s Berlin with one of its greatest luminaries.

In this timeless guide, originally published in Germany in 1929, Franz Hessel invites his readers to join him on a stroll through Weimar-era Berlin, taking in some of the most fascinating sights the city has to offer, many of which still exist in some form today.

From the Alexanderplatz to Kreuzberg, his record of them has become priceless; as has his fascinating commentary on the seismic shifts shaking German culture at the time.

Superbly written, and as fresh today as when it first appeared, this is a book to be savoured.

Foreword

Take a walk around 1920s Berlin with one of its greatest luminaries.

Additional text

‘[A] sprawling panorama of cultural memory and miscellany, a vibrant catalog of metropolitan life, and a seismograph of a city on the verge of disaster.’

Product details

• Authors: Amanda DeMarco (translator), Amanda DeMarco, Franz Hessel
• Assisted by: Amanda DeMarco (Translation), Amanda DeMarco (Translation)
• Publisher: Scribe Publications
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 10.05.2018
• EAN: 9781911344728
• ISBN: 978-1-911344-72-8
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 200 mm x 20 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Non-fiction book; Travel > Travelogues, traveller's tales > Germany; Zwischenkriegszeit, Berlin, Reiseführer, Europäische Geschichte, Zwischen den Weltkriegen (1919 bis 1939 n. Chr.), HISTORY / Europe / Germany, Heimatkunde, LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Essays, HISTORY / Social History, Vorkriegszeit (Zweiter Weltkrieg), Berlin / Reisebeschreibung, Englische Bücher / Belletristik / Essay