Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Oliver Hilmes studied history, politics and psychology in Paris, Marburg and Potsdam, and holds a doctorate in twentieth-century history. His books include Malevolent Muse: The Life of Alma Mahler, Cosima Wagner: The Lady of Bayreuth and Franz Liszt: Musician, Celebrity, Superstar. Berlin 1936 was a top-ten bestseller on publication in Germany.<b>Engrossing</b> -- Matt Chilton, **Books of the Year** * Daily Telegraph *<br />Eighty years after the events it depicts, <b><i>Berlin 1936 </i>is a small</b> <b>masterpiece</b> - you actually feel like you were there... The book was originally in German, but Jefferson Chase's translation is so perfectly judged, you'd never even notice -- Marcus Berkmann * Daily Mail, **Books of the Year** *<br /><b>Entertaining</b>... A <b>vivid collage</b> of vignettes gleaned from diaries, police reports, snippets from newspapers, and so on. It dances from comedy to tragedy, from the ironic to the sinister, to give a picture of a darkening Germany... Hilmes has an eye for incidental detail. -- Robbie Millen * The Times *<br />A German historian charts the Berlin Olympics day by day through a series of memorable vignettes of life under Nazism. Hilmes' deceptively jaunty, even comic tone echoes that of the Games themselves -- Simon Kuper * Financial Times, **Books of the Year** *<br />This book reads like a tourist guide to a city on the eve of destruction -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times, **Books of the Year** *<br />Written with great verve, compassion and humour, Hilmes' book brings to life a panoramic cast of characters ... <b>Compelling, suspenseful and beautifully done</b> -- Anna Funder, author of STASILAND<br />Jefferson Chase's excellent translation gives us taut prose that adds to the sense of unease -- Emma John * Guardian, **Books of the Year** *<br /><b>Thrilling </b>... <i>Berlin 1936</i>, with its <b>keyhole glimpses</b> into otherwise private lives, gives us an<b> engaging portrait</b> of those last flashes individuality in the Third Reich. -- Robert Leigh-Pemberton * Daily Telegraph *<br />This<b> fascinating</b> work captures the simmering complexity of a society as it enters one of the darkest chapters of modern history. With<b> chilling immediacy</b>, Hilmes offers portraits taken from a whole cross section of Berlin, characters as <b>vivid</b> as any from an Otto Dix or George Grosz painting -- Chloe Aridjis, author of BOOK OF CLOUDS<br />Anybody looking for an alternative history of one of the most controversial Games in the history of the Olympics should look no further * Daily Express *<br />Hilmes has a <b>gift for storytelling</b> ... <b>entertaining</b> ... a <b>delicately crafted</b> treat -- Nikolaus Wachsmann * Guardian *<br /><b>Fascinating... meticulous research</b> -- Roger Domeneghetti * Times Literary Supplement *<br />Hilmes' narrative mosaic becomes <b>mesmerising.</b> -- Peter Carty * i *<br />A <b>breathtaking</b> book * Die Welt *<br />Hilmes has unearthed many memorable vignettes ... Jefferson Chase's smooth translation contributes to a chillingly breezy read. -- Simon Kuper * Spectator *<br />A <b>punchy, vibrant,</b> and <b>highly original</b> account of the most controversial of all modern Olympiads. -- David Clay Large, author of NAZI GAMES: THE OLYMPICS OF 1936<br />A <b>riveting, immersive</b> glimpse into German-and indeed global-life tiptoeing towards disaster. Through Hilmes's creative approach to historical storytelling, a <b>multivocal Berlin lives and breathes vividly.</b> -- Jessica J. Lee, author of TURNING: A SWIMMING MEMOIR<br />Fascinating... Oliver Hilmes' pen portrait immerses the reader in a city still resistant to totalitarian control -- David Evans * The Tablet *<br />A dense, enthralling portrait of those sixteen days, reflective of the whole of Germany. As riveting as a novel. * Neues Deutschland *<br />Carrying readers to venues far from the fields of athletic competition, the richly detailed 16-day narrative spotlights men and women who receive no medals but who deserve empathetic attention ... A riveting drama. * Booklist (starred review) *
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK AWARD 2018
*SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE TELEGRAPH, FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN, DAILY MAIL AND THE TIMES*
'Compelling, suspenseful and beautifully done' Anna Funder, author of STASILAND
A captivating account of the Nazi Olympics - told through the voices and stories of those who were there.
For sixteen days in the summer of 1936, the world's attention turned to the German capital as it hosted the Olympic Games. Seen through the eyes of a cast of characters - Nazi leaders and foreign diplomats, athletes and journalists, nightclub owners and jazz musicians - Berlin 1936 plunges us into the high tension of this unfolding scene.
Alongside the drama in the Olympic Stadium - from the triumph of Jesse Owens to the scandal when an American tourist breaks through the security and manages to kiss Hitler - Oliver Hilmes takes us behind the scenes and into the lives of ordinary Berliners: the woman with a dark secret who steps in front of a train, the transsexual waiting for the Gestapo's knock on the door, and the Jewish boy hoping that Germany may lose in the sporting arena.
During the sporting events the dictatorship was partially put on hold; here then, is a last glimpse of the vibrant and diverse life in Berlin in the 1920s and 30s that the Nazis aimed to destroy.