A Most Dangerous Book: Tacitus's Germania from the Roman Empire to the Third Reich

by Christopher B. Krebs

Overview

When the Roman historian Tacitus wrote the Germania, a none-too-flattering little book about the ancient Germans, he could not have foreseen that centuries later the Nazis would extol it as a bible and vow to resurrect Germany on its grounds. But the Germania inspired and polarized readers long before the rise of the Third Reich. In this elegant and captivating history, Christopher B. Krebs, a professor of classics at Harvard University, traces the wide-ranging influence of the Germania, revealing how an ancient text rose to take its place among the most dangerous books in the world."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393342925
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	08/27/2012
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	662,835
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Christopher B. Krebs, a classics professor at Harvard University, has published widely on the Roman historians and their afterlives. He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Illustrations 9

Acknowledgments 11

Introduction The Portentous Past 15

1 The Roman Conquest of the Germanic Myth 29

2 Survival and Rescue 56

3 The Birth of the German Ancestors 81

4 Formative Years 105

5 Heroes' Songs 129

6 The Volk of Free-Spirited Northerners 153

7 White Blood 182

8 A Bible for National Socialists 214

Epilogue Another Reading, Another Book 245

Notes 251

Index 287

Editorial Reviews

"Fascinating…[Krebs] lays out the recovery, of Germania, in 1455, like a detective story…He has a light touch and a dry sense of humor."

New York Times Book Review - Cullen Murphy

"Clever, learned…[Krebs] synthesizes a great deal of classical scholarship and intellectual history into a concise, accessible story."

Slate - Adam Kirsch

"Tacitus's ghost, and the ghosts of those martyred in supposed obedience to his theories, still haunt us, as they should. Warm thanks to Christopher Krebs for feeding them the blood that has enabled them to speak."

London Review of Books - Anthony Grafton

"It is an extraordinary tale, and [Krebs]…tells it with great verve and charm…Entrancing."

Wall Street Journal - Ferdinand Mount

A dramatic detective story.

London Review of Books

It is an extraordinary tale, and Mr. Krebs . . . tells it with great verve and charm.

Wall Street Journal

Clever, learned. . . . [Krebs] synthesizes a great deal of classical scholarship and intellectual history into a concise, accessible story.

Slate

Fascinating. . . . [Krebs] has a light touch and a dry sense of humor.

New York Times

…fascinating…Krebs…lays out the recovery of Germania, in 1455, like a detective story…he has a light touch and a dry sense of humor. And despite the title of his book, he does not hold Germania responsible for acts committed in its name. "Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book," he concludes. "His readers made it so."
—The New York Times

Cullen Murphy

Harvard classics professor Krebs writes a scholarly but lucid account of the abuse of history. Written in 98 C.E. by the Roman official Tacitus, About the Origin and Mores of the Germanic Peoples was lost for centuries but resurfaced around 1500 as Germans were growing resentful of foreign domination—in this case from the Catholic Church in Rome. The rediscovered book launched a primitivist myth that captivated admirers over the next 500 years, from Martin Luther to Heinrich Himmler, who loved its portrayal of ancient Germans as freedom-loving warriors, uncultured but honorable, in contrast to decadent Romans. In fact, Tacitus probably never visited Germany, Krebs notes. Rather, using books and travelers' reports, he wrote for a Roman audience who shared his romantic view of northern barbarians. Enthusiastic German readers, culminating in the Nazis, ignored Tacitus's disparaging comments, misread passages to confirm their prejudices, and proclaimed that the ancient historian confirmed their national superiority. This is an inventive analysis of, and warning against, an irresistible human yearning to find written proof of one's ideology. Illus. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"A fascinating story of how a book could be used and—especially—abused over two thousand years, as enemies saw it as presenting Germans as brutish and barbarian, while German nationalistic pride extracted a quite different message of a nation that was simple, virtuous, and pure.... beautifully told by Christopher Krebs."

Christopher Pelling

"A most exciting book! In Krebs’ hands, the story of the Germania manuscript becomes part thriller, part detective story.... A must-read for anyone interested in the pernicious power of the ideas of antiquity—and a timely reminder of the responsibilities placed on readers as well as writers."

Tim Rood