Book recommendations for the history of the area that now encompasses Germany?

by thedazzler

I am looking for a few book recommendations that cover the history of the area that now encompasses Germany. I just finished "Amsterdam: The World's Most Liberal City" by Russell Shorto, which covers the history of Amsterdam from its first inhabitants.

I searched this sub using the sidebar, and I've also search amazon and my library, but there is so much WWII to wade through.

Can anyone recommend better search terms? What was this area called in earlier history? Or better yet, can any recommend any specific books?

elos_

Is there a specific time period you have interest in? That would help. In terms of general recommendation though my 'big three' so to say are:

  • Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947; Christopher Clark

  • The Origins of the Wars of German Unification; William Carr

  • The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary, 1914-1918; Holger Herwig

Other great works include, if you want more military history, H.W. Koch's work The Rise of Modern Warfare: 1618-1815; at least half of the book is (rightfully) focused on the Germans. Another good work is * The Peculiarities of German History: Bourgeois Society and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Germany* by David Blackbourn and Geoff Eley. As you can tell it is very Marxist but it serves as a nice contradiction to the absolutely bonkers Sonderweg nonsense you'll see; but definitely get more of an intro on the history before diving into this one. While we're on Blackbourn The Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape, and the Making of Modern Germany stands as a towering example of his expertise as well.