Germania

Seconded -- read this earlier this year, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It also rather radically altered my perception of the "usual" German historical narrative about Prussian militarism etc. Winder's a very humane writer, in addition to a hilarious one. His two follow-ups, Danubia and Lotharingia (the latter of which just got a write-up in the New York Review of Books) are on my to-read list for the new year.

I've read Germania and it is an absolute belter. I'm a British Army brat and lived for around 10 years in what was West Germany. The old Saxons are a decent lot in my opinion. That book - Germania opened my eyes to just how complicated the history of the European continent is. "Anglo Saxons" reminds us of just how much these islands are intertwined with the continent. "Germania" showed me how much I didn't know about my own sodding history. I knew a Roman geezer was nicknamed Germanicus but nothing about say Mercian kings or Kentish kings or the subtle interplay in the north with the Picts and the Scotii, the Welsh and the west welsh (Cornwall) and other Britons. What we call today Ireland - North Ireland and Eire - and the interplay with what we now call Scotland is another very complicated set of circumstances. We are all aware here in England of King Alfred the Great - Wessex - and might know of King Cnut (Danish) and may be dimly aware of other Kings from the time post Roman (~400AD) until 1066. It's a bit involved.…

Very much appreciate the recommendation. I'm reading (well, listening to) Simon Winder's Germania - the first of a trilogy covering the history of most of western Europe. It sounds like it may interleave nicely with this work. Simon's style, augmented / exacerbated by the narrator, is delightfully droll -- I thoroughly enjoy it.