FRANK TRENTMANN, author of Empire of Things, is professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London, and at the University of Helsinki. Previously, he taught at Princeton University. He has been awarded the Whitfield Prize and a Humboldt Research Award, and he was a Moore Scholar at Caltech. Empire of Things was named the science book of the year by the Austrian government. He grew up in Hamburg and lives in London.
#1 Political Book of 2023, Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)
A Best Book of 2023, The Telegraph (United Kingdom)
#1 Best Non-Fiction Book December 2023 and January 2024 at Die
Zeit, ZDF, Deutschlandfunk, and taz (Germany)
A New Yorker "Best Books of the Year We Have Read So Far"
“[A] rich, ambitious account of Germany’s improbable rise from a
moral abyss to a prosperous democracy that is sometimes held up as
a bulwark of stability and liberal values… [the book] remains fresh
and surprising throughout, thanks in part to Trentmann’s knack for
drawing on an astounding range of voices.” —Bryn Stole, The
Washington Post
"Outstanding... A probing moral history."—Timothy Garton Ash, New
York Review of Books
"Remarkably rich...Out of the Darkness usefully reveals the roots
of [modern Germany's] ethical knots. Trentmann is still hopeful
that Germans can untangle them."—New York Times Book Review
"Never dull...the moral remaking of Germany is a complicated
tale...[and] a tale that Mr. Trentmann is well placed to tell...
[a] vast, engrossing history." —Ian Brunskill, The Wall Street
Journal
"Trentmann draws from a wide range of sources, including amateur
plays and essays by schoolchildren. These lend intimacy to his
portrait of a citizenry engaged in the continuous process of
formulating its own views of right and wrong as it debates issues
from rearmament to environmentalism." —"The Best Books We've Read
in 2024 So Far," The New Yorker
"A magisterial history of Germany over the last 80 years...
penetrating... thougful... [With] [f]ascinating insights on how a
country of poets, philosophers, and scientists emerged from
totalitarianism and genocide."—Kirkus Reviews
"Trentmann’s sweeping narrative is grounded in vivid snapshots...a
penetrating and immersive look at a society attempting, if
sometimes failing, to morally right itself." —Publishers Weekly
"Masterly. Frank Trentmann's wide-ranging, deeply researched,
nuanced evaluation of changing German mentalities and moral
challenges since the Nazi era is a tour de force."—Ian
Kershaw, author of Hitler
"In this magisterial book, Frank Trentmann charts how the Germans
responded to the moral responsibilities that they faced as
perpetrators of a war of annihilation and of the mass murder of the
European Jews. Discussing transformations in East and West Germany,
Trentmann highlights the trade-offs between moral reorientation and
economic reconstruction. Portrayed on a broad canvas, this is a
history of post-war Germany for our crisis-ridden times."—Benjamin
Ziemann, author of Hitler's Personal Prisoner: The Life of Martin
Niemöller
“I could not put the book down. The way
Frank Trentmann writes history, the way he brings
together great and small, analysis and narrative, is
wonderful.” —Bernhard Schlink, author of the international best
seller The Reader
"A milestone of historical writing" —Frankfurter Rundschau
Trentmann adds another layer to the history of events: the
accompanying self-reflection among the Germans, with all their
contradictions, their conflicts, their insights and errors. This is
original, enlightening and entertaining. We find ourselves in these
pages and are amazed!" —Sueddeutsche Zeitung
"Impressive ... shows how German history can be told in a new way'"
—Wolf Lepenies, Die Welt
"A great panorama." —Hamburger Abendblatt
"Compelling...a deeply serious work that moves gracefully between
the moral challenges that are his central concern and the more
familiar categories of politics, law and culture." —David
Blackbourn, Literary Review
"Outstanding... A meticulous and well-judged account of Germany
from 1942 to today [that] shows how it transformed itself from
pariah nation to leader of a continent." —"Best Books of 2023," The
Daily Telegraph
"Monumental... a remarkable book...[with] original and unique
insights into the lived history of the Germans... [It] succeeds
like no other broad overview to combine the width and depth of
human voices with an overarching narrative ...stimulating,
immensely rich and very readable."—Frank Biess, Sueddeutsche
Zeitung
"An impressive account of how Germany built a new identity for
itself after the barbaric Nazi years...terrifically
insightful...This book runs to 838 pages, but barely a word is
wasted. Trentmann is a skillful and unflashy storyteller with
flickers of gentle irony. Echoing Tolstoy’s theory of history as
the 'sum of human wills,' he aims to stitch the scraps of everyday
experience into a quilt of grand narrative... [with] richness,
colour and subtlety." —Oliver Moody, The Times (London)
"Excellent .... Trentmann's study marshals an immense amount of
evidence in response to a single basic question: how did Germans
reassert themselves as morally oriented human beings?"—The
Times Literary Supplement
“Give[s] a deep insight into how Germany and its people grappled
with questions of guilt and identity....navigates complex issues
like self-pity, denazification, immigration, reunification and
military intervention with refreshing clarity. This book couldn’t
be more timely.”—BBC History Magazine, Katja Hoyer
"Frank Trentmann’s rich and brilliant Out of the Darkness traces
the moral and material history of Germany since the Second World
War through the lives of its people. Wonderfully readable and
compelling, it introduces us to Christian peaceniks, 'red'
militarists, frustrated feminists, unappreciated 'guest workers,'
and a host of other unexpected and diverse Germans, illuminating
the achievements and failures of the nation that emerged from the
Third Reich."—Suzanne L. Marchand, Author of Porcelain: A History
from the Heart of Europe and Down from Olympus
"Frank Trentmann’s enthralling account of the Germans since
1942 is rooted in a brilliant insight: that the morality Germans
invoked in their struggle to make sense of their place in history
was never a transcendent standard, but a malleable and contingent
substance whose nature was always contested. This fascinating and
compelling moral history takes us to the centre of modern Germany’s
self-understanding, moving elegantly between politics, economics,
culture and the private reflections of
individuals." —Christopher Clark, Author of The Sleepwalkers
and Revolutionary Spring
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