Moving to Germany...

I am moving to Germany this July and have already begun reading various German culture books such as Germany: Understanding an Enigma and Culture Shock! Germany. But I am open to any fiction or nonfiction. Any suggestions?

Germany is a bit of a tough nut to crack. Its history is completely fragmented and is best understood in bits and pieces. For example, I lived in a small town on the Mosel from 1975-78. I was near Trier, the northern Roman capitol and Roman Trier and The Treveri is a good starting point for understanding its history. Likewise is Roger Pilkington Small Boat On The Moselle. A recent overall picture of German history is presented in Germania: In Wayaward pursuit Of Germans And Their History by Simon Winder. Gunther Grass although technically from Danzig Poland/Germany, has written excellent fiction and nonfiction. So has mannt::Thomas Mann. Where are you moving to?

Peter Watson's The German Genius may be worth a look.

<2 & 3: Thanks for the excellent recommendations! Nemoman, I am moving to Landstuhl, which is about an hour SW of Frankfurt.

Don't know why my previous message wouldn't post. Anyway, thanks for the great recommendations. Nemoman, I am moving to Landstuhl, which is an hour SW of Frankfurt.

I know the area quite well; I was at Flugplatz Hahn, now a regional civilian airfield. Roger Pilkington traveled all of the inland waterways of Europe and chronicled his trips in a series of "small boat" books. In addition to the Moselle (Mosel auf Deutch) reference above, he wrote one on the Rhine. They are excellent travel books that include his musings on the history and folklore of the cities he passes. They are probably not currently in print, but cheap used copies are readily available on ABE Books, ALIBRIS, etc. My favorite travel writer and book is A Time Of Gifts by Patrick Fermor. In the early thirties he embarks on a journey by foot from the Hook of Holland to Istanbul. This first book (in what was planned as a three-book series) takes him down the Rhine to the start of the Danube. I should have thought of this book in my first post because I guarantee you will love it.

Thanks for the excellent suggestions, I just ordered Pilkington's Upper Rhine book and A Time of Gifts. affle, The German Genius looks fantastic, but I'm not quite up for a 900 page book right now!