German Autumn
Published on 6. October 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
128 pages
978-0-8166-7752-8 (ISBN)
Description
In late 1946, Stig Dagerman was assigned by the Swedish newspaper Expressen to report on life in Germany immediately after the fall of the Third Reich. First published in Sweden in 1947, German Autumn, a collection of the articles written for that assignment, was unlike any other reporting at the time. While most Allied and foreign journalists spun their writing on the widely held belief that the German people deserved their fate, Dagerman disagreed and reported on the humanness of the men and women ruined by the war-their guilt and suffering. Dagerman was already a prominent writer in Sweden, but the publication and broad reception of German Autumn throughout Europe established him as a compassionate journalist and led to the long-standing international influence of the book.
Presented here in its first American edition with a compelling new foreword by Mark Kurlansky, Dagerman's essays on the tragic aftermath of war, suffering, and guilt are as hauntingly relevant today amid current global conflict as they were sixty years ago.
Presented here in its first American edition with a compelling new foreword by Mark Kurlansky, Dagerman's essays on the tragic aftermath of war, suffering, and guilt are as hauntingly relevant today amid current global conflict as they were sixty years ago.
Reviews / Votes
"Dagerman wrote with beautiful objectivity. Instead of emotive phrases, he uses a choice of facts, like bricks, to construct an emotion."-Graham Greene "German Autumn is one of the best collections ever written about the aftermath of war. It is on par with John Reed's classic articles from the Soviet Union as well as with Edgar Snow's articles about the great political revolution in China. Stig Dagerman depicts the tragic realities of post-World War II Germany with astonishing clarity and artistic skillfulness. He provides the reader with a profound insight, which ultimately is the story of every war. To anyone interested in understanding what great journalism means, German Autumn is indispensable. It should be compulsory reading for all young people who might consider becoming a journalist, and it is as alive as it was when first published in 1947. Read it."-Henning Mankell "German Autumn is a very important book and it is a very good thing that an English language version is becoming available for Americans. We need this book. "-Mark Kurlansky, from the ForewordMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Minnesota
United States
Dimensions
Height: 213 mm
Width: 139 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
186 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8166-7752-8 (9780816677528)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Stig Dagerman (1923-1954) was regarded as the most talented young writer of the Swedish postwar generation. By age twenty-six he had published four novels, a collection of short stories, and four full-length plays, in addition to German Autumn.
Robin Fulton Macpherson is a Scottish poet and translator who has lived and worked in Norway since 1973.
Mark Kurlansky is a New York Times best-selling author of many books, including Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World and Salt: A World History.
Robin Fulton Macpherson is a Scottish poet and translator who has lived and worked in Norway since 1973.
Mark Kurlansky is a New York Times best-selling author of many books, including Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World and Salt: A World History.
Content
Foreword: Pitiless Fall
Mark Kurlansky
Introduction
Robin Fulton Macpherson
1. German Autumn
2. Ruins
3. Bombed Cemetery
4. Poor Man's Cake
5. The Art of Sinking
6. The Unwelcome
7. The Rivals
8. Lost Generation
9. The Course of Justice
10. Cold Day in Munich
11. Through the Forest of the Hanged Boys
12. Return to Hamburg
13. Literature and Suffering
Mark Kurlansky
Introduction
Robin Fulton Macpherson
1. German Autumn
2. Ruins
3. Bombed Cemetery
4. Poor Man's Cake
5. The Art of Sinking
6. The Unwelcome
7. The Rivals
8. Lost Generation
9. The Course of Justice
10. Cold Day in Munich
11. Through the Forest of the Hanged Boys
12. Return to Hamburg
13. Literature and Suffering