A MOST DANGEROUS BOOK By Christopher B. Krebs

a most dangerous book
Christopher B. Krebs A Most Dangerous Book: Tacitus’s GERMANIA From the Roman Empire to the Third Reich tells the involving tale of a classic book that the Nazis chased during World War II. Krebs, a classical scholar at Stanford University, gives the history of Tacitus’s classic book over the ages and shows how its presence in Germany created a cult seeking the valuable copy. If you liked The Monuments Men, you’ll like this book. GRADE: B
Table of Contents:
•The Roman conquest of the germanic myth
• Survival and rescue
• The birth of the German ancestors
• Formative years
• Heroes’ songs
• The volk of free-spirited northerners
• White blood
• A bible for national socialists.

14 thoughts on “A MOST DANGEROUS BOOK By Christopher B. Krebs

  1. Wolf Böhrendt

    Though I’ve read Tacitus in school (seven years of Latin – most of which I’ve forgotten …) I don’t remember this eloquent description of the “Germans”. I don’t believe in all that stuff about “race” anyway – I think most of our traits are not inherited but a product of our environment, especially our parents and friends …

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Wolf, I completely agree. The Nazis prized Tacitus’s “Germania” because it praised the warriors for their strength and courage.

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, it won’t surprise you to learn I have most of Tacitus’s works in Penguin editions. I’ve read a few of them. Tacitus is a cranky writer. That’s where the adjective “taciturn” comes from.

      Reply
  2. maggie

    I’ve come to expect the totally unexpected in your blog, George, and this title certainly is one I know I’ll never read. Good to know the root of the word Taciturn. A joke is the dictionary shows a pix of Tommy Lee Jones

    Reply

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