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Keeping Up with the Germans: A History of Anglo-German Encounters
In 1996, in the middle of watching an ill-tempered football match between England and Germany, Philip Oltermann's parents tell him that they are going to leave their home city Hamburg behind and move to London. A number of worrying questions arise. How would English schoolboys take to a lanky 16-year-old German? How did they think and do things differently? What was the secret of the famed British humour? And were there values that English and German people shared? In search of answers, Oltermann interweaves memoir and history, taking ten key Anglo-German encounters from the last 200 years as his starting point. These an encounter between Joe Strummer and the Baader Meinhof gang, Helmut Kohl trying to explain the virtues of German cuisine to a sceptical Margaret Thatcher and philosophers Theodor Adorno and A. J. Ayer clashing over jazz. What emerges is nothing less than an alternative national story for the two not one marked by military conflict and diplomatic hostility, but one shaped by dialogue, interaction and genuine fondness.
268 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 5, 2014
Gut - as far as it went.
As a Brit that has lived in Germany for nearly 24 years, this was a must (it was being passed round the Brit community here in Stuttgart).
I felt Oltermann (who is German and lives in London and writes for The Guardian newspaper) came up with a good conceit - narrating some Anglo-German encounters which he felt epitomised the relationship between the two countries, e.g. Helmut Kohl meeting Margaret Thatcher (two worlds collided there all right!) and inevitably a soccer encounter (the 1977 European Cup Final Liverpool v Moenchengladbach, and in particular Kevin Keegan meeting Berti Vogts, the latter got roasted) - which Oltermann was aiming to broaden into a picture of two nations and their love-hate relationship.
I was a bit disappointed, though, for two reasons. Firstly, I felt the chapters were too short and a little superficial. Just when you thought the exploration was going to take off and become meaningful, it would end with some jokey comment, and that was that. And secondly he didn't keep to the script. Rambling tangents don't complement the narrative, they spoil it.
The book is a mixture of personal memoir and objective history, but the memoir wasn't very interesting or revealing and the history was woefully superficial (too many periods of history were approached in too short a space, basically).
Herr Oltermann, Sie haben mich ein bisschen enttaeuscht!
December 2, 2012
As a student of German, I am always going to be interested in social/cultural accounts of the country, even more so when it's in relation to my own (England). To be honest, I was expecting this to be more of a memoir of the author himself (who moved from Germany to England as a boy), than a page or two of personal experience followed by a whole chapter of a comparison with a vaguely similar historical Anglo-German encounter.
One criticism would be that observations of national character were rather stereotypical and I don't quite agree with all of them. Sometimes I even found them a bit irritating - the part where he described how there are two separate hot/cold taps on our sinks (instead of one that combines the two) reminded me of when a German ex had whined to me about how backwards this was, as if it were personally my fault. However, maybe that is just me being English, not being able to take criticism and all that.
Still, it was fascinating to read about parts of German history that often get ignored - or, to put it more accurately, that people don't even bother to look for. In the epilogue, Oltermann says that he purposely tried to steer away from addressing the Nazi era as much as possible, describing it as 'a historical black hole, sucking up everything interesting that happened before or after'. Apart from touching on the story of Unity Mitford (which is, to be fair, pretty interesting) we refreshingly get an insight into Christopher Isherwood's Berlin and the terrorist movement in West Germany during the 1970s, amongst other things.
I give it 3 stars because I wasn't exactly reaching for it constantly and I do think it could have done with some editing. But all in all, not a bad way to bolster my studies.
One criticism would be that observations of national character were rather stereotypical and I don't quite agree with all of them. Sometimes I even found them a bit irritating - the part where he described how there are two separate hot/cold taps on our sinks (instead of one that combines the two) reminded me of when a German ex had whined to me about how backwards this was, as if it were personally my fault. However, maybe that is just me being English, not being able to take criticism and all that.
Still, it was fascinating to read about parts of German history that often get ignored - or, to put it more accurately, that people don't even bother to look for. In the epilogue, Oltermann says that he purposely tried to steer away from addressing the Nazi era as much as possible, describing it as 'a historical black hole, sucking up everything interesting that happened before or after'. Apart from touching on the story of Unity Mitford (which is, to be fair, pretty interesting) we refreshingly get an insight into Christopher Isherwood's Berlin and the terrorist movement in West Germany during the 1970s, amongst other things.
I give it 3 stars because I wasn't exactly reaching for it constantly and I do think it could have done with some editing. But all in all, not a bad way to bolster my studies.
February 3, 2021
An enjoyable journey of one German teenagers story of coming to the UK and his experiences/culture shock with it. I think that I got a deeper insight into German culture as well as a interesting outsider perspective on what Britain or, more correctly England, is like. This mixes up philosophy and football, culinary, historical and pop culture to provide a fun journey viewing two countries through two different lenses.
March 27, 2013
After I read Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour by Kate Fox to understand the English people who I've been living amongst for almost three years I thought it'd be a good idea to look at the other side and give Philip Oltermann's book a go. And no better idea this could have been. Not only did I learn a lot about German-English relationships that I didn't know about before, Oltermann also manages to come across as a very open minded, friendly German living in England - something at least I didn't come across too often as it's more or less always the same things "my people" moan about: everything's too expensive, the bread is s**t, the living standard is poor etc etc. How refreshing to read from someone that takes into account achievements / innovations / ideas from both countries and explains them rather than judging which country is best at what. A highly entertaining read that I recommend to all Germans as well as English that have always wondered what we "Krauts" are like. An unembarrassing mirror to look into when you're German. FAB!
February 4, 2013
This book is part memoir but mostly an account of how the British generally regard the Germans and also, though to a lesser extent, how the Germans see the Brits. The author moved to London from Germany as a teenager, so with one foot firmly in each culture he compares the two societies approaches to politics, literature and movies, philosophy, art, cars (Mini or Beetle?), comedy, soccer, and punk rock. In passing he discusses food, language, and quite a few other topics. Anyone with a passing familiarity with either or both countries will probably enjoy it. Since Oltermann is a German, although with strong English proclivities, the irony is kept to a minimum.
August 10, 2012
I struggled through this, but was kind of pleased I persevered till the end. There are some interesting comparisons/contrasts about the English/German character but I feel parts of it got a bit turgid/dull in places. Maybe I was looking for something a bit more lighthearted in approach...maybe the jazzy front cover gave me that impression..(don't judge a book...')
May 17, 2017
An affable memoir-with-brains. Some nicely chosen encounters. The football one (as he says himself) can feel rather 'done', but I really liked the pieces on Isherwood, Baader Meinhof (I'd totally forgotten that De Beauvoir millionnaire timewaster Iain Sinclair had written about her) and on *that* bit of film - 'Dinner for One'. I have witnessed 'Dinner for One' at several points in my life, care of kith and kin- it is *so* German. (Let's be honest, it's pure slapstick and (es tut mir Leid) not funny, mein Schatz. Good effort though - I wish I'd managed to integrate as an expat in the way he managed.
PS: that Peter Frankenfeld is all over YouTube. That accents sketch is very good.
PS: that Peter Frankenfeld is all over YouTube. That accents sketch is very good.
March 11, 2026
I can't believe I had this one for years unread on my bookshelf! It was a really enjoyable semi-autobiographical look at cultural moments shared between Britain and Germany told with reference to the author's own experience of moving from Hamburg to London as a teenager. The Dinner for One lore was a great extra!
May 27, 2024
Not quite the education on German culture that I hoped for, with the narrative dragging heavily at times, but still introduced some people and events significant in the German culture, that someone growing up in England would otherwise not know of
April 13, 2012
Philip Oltermann left Schleswig-Holstein to live in England with his parents in 1996 when he was 16. In this book he chronicles some historical German reactions to the English and also his own. This is a young man's book - there are chapters on the significance of football encounters between the two countries; how their attitudes to sex and nudity differ; how the less verbal nature of German humour can be attributed to the polysyllabic vocabulary of German and the sentences that are like suspension bridges. He offers some reflections on English irony which led me to the discovery that, delightful as it is, this irony does impose limitations on one's personal development.
It was the pages on how differently the two lands make use of their countrysides and those on German politics since the War that most interested this elderly, antipodean, football-averse, female reader.
A snippet: "While English families will go on a day trip to visit a country house, German families...will abandon their cars and engage in that quintessentially Germanic activity, the Wanderung, for in Germany everybody goes walking...When the German president Karl Carstens retired in 1984, the first thing he did was go on a long walking tour from the Baltic sea via the East-West border all the way down to the Alps."
Though Philip Oltermann's prose style is superior to that of many native English journalists it is not yet fleet-footed enough to catch up with that of the best.
June 15, 2022
An excellent examination of both the UK and Germany by an author who moved to the UK from Germany as a teenager in 1997 but whatever strengths and insights it had and offered when it was first published in 2012 has inevitably been overtaken by events - Brexit, CoVid, Ukraine - so that the times he writes best about - late Thatcher, Blair and Brown and the 'Cool Britannia' style/fashion/music/football that goes with that period just seems irredeemably long ago if not actually out-of-date. I enjoyed the book and found many of the things he reported about amusing - but then I am old enough to have lived through them - I can't help thinking that for anyone younger than 40? 50? a lot of this book will fall flat.
Books about or set in/describing the immediate past are the ones that will often date the fastest and, though this may turn out to be temporary, it is inevitable. It takes time for history/perspective to sort the wheat from the chaff of past events. I found the book funny but I lived through these times and already had opinions on events but more importantly I could place it context. For readers who were not teenagers in the 1990s it can seem more irrelevant, and certainly less exciting, than the 1970's or 80's. I can understand this because I found my grandfather's more intriguing than my father's.
A fun book but I doubt many will enjoy it now.
Books about or set in/describing the immediate past are the ones that will often date the fastest and, though this may turn out to be temporary, it is inevitable. It takes time for history/perspective to sort the wheat from the chaff of past events. I found the book funny but I lived through these times and already had opinions on events but more importantly I could place it context. For readers who were not teenagers in the 1990s it can seem more irrelevant, and certainly less exciting, than the 1970's or 80's. I can understand this because I found my grandfather's more intriguing than my father's.
A fun book but I doubt many will enjoy it now.
October 3, 2015
An excellent comparison and commentary of differences between Germany and Britain. Each chapter uses a historical encounter between a Briton and a German to take a look at a different aspect of culture, society, history of politics. The encounters are Heinrich Heine and William Cobbett, Christopher Isherwood and Marlene Dietrich, Theodor Adorno and AJ Ayer (philosophy), Kurt Schwitters in the Lake District (art, gardening and nature), the Beetle and the Mini (manufacturing, motoring), Freddie Frinton and German comedy (comedy, obviously), Kevin Keegan and Bertie Vogts (football), and Astrid Proll and Joe Strummer (politics). Philip Olterman's own experiences of moving to England as a 17-year-old and attending school are mixed into these. Together, they form an intelligent, interesting and at times amusing commentary on the two countries - though perhaps the book is best appreciated by someone who has had experience of both. I thought the earlier chapters were stronger, and I was erring to a 5-star rating, but the final two chapters, on football and on politics, actually seemed a bit dated in a post-referendum world (the book was written in 2011). Nonetheless, it's well worth a read for the insight it gives into both countries, especially from a cultural perspective.
July 17, 2012
I started this with high hopes, having been sorely disappointed in the last book of this ilk. Sadly this turned into a "Germany and Germans and German stuff is far superior to their English counterparts" that I just got irritated.
I read it on a Kindle and at around 70%, I was about to jack it in when it ended. The last 30% was taken up with Acknowledgements and a vast bibliography, which should put the rating down to 2 stars, but for the rather splended description of the whole Dinner for One phenomenon. I didn't feel that the tone of the book was anywhere near academic enough to warrant such a huge reference section. Even my uni books aren't that pretentious!
I read it on a Kindle and at around 70%, I was about to jack it in when it ended. The last 30% was taken up with Acknowledgements and a vast bibliography, which should put the rating down to 2 stars, but for the rather splended description of the whole Dinner for One phenomenon. I didn't feel that the tone of the book was anywhere near academic enough to warrant such a huge reference section. Even my uni books aren't that pretentious!
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March 14, 2012Like so much modern non-fiction, this would benefit from less of the 'personal journey' angle, and better fact-checking (if I can spot an error in a section relating to football, something has gone seriously wrong). And given the topic, it is necessarily prone to generalisation. Nonetheless, for a very quick read it's an amusing and insightful book which explodes a couple of stereotypes, adds shading to others, and isn't afraid to admit the truth of the rest.
October 11, 2013
I expected this one to be the usual personal account of adjustments the author had to make in relation to his move to England, peppered with miscommunication and misadventures. Oltermann however adds to the mix analysis and random facts about the English and Germans. The book makes for a decent read if you do not fancy a comedy of errors approach to moving countries.
July 2, 2012
An amusing, but somewhat generalised, insight into the fundamental differences between the two nations. It was also great to discover the story behind 'Dinner for one' :D
October 6, 2012
Interesting, well written but I found it hewed to closely to the idea of national characters.
October 23, 2014
Interesting, entertaining and amusing.
Read
May 17, 2012Very, very good!
January 20, 2014
Hilarious! Thoroughly entertaining! :)
April 13, 2017
I tried reading this book for the first time about 12 month ago and while I enjoyed it, i abandoned it as my knowledge at that time was not sufficient enough to get the full experience and to understand all nuances.
12month later my general knowledge re German history has defiantly increased! Adorno, Dada, too easy!
Knowledge gaps are still present for the more recent past however, especially post WW2. 68er, RAF, heard about all of them before but very hazy on what it actually means.
The book is great if you have the sufficient background knowledge and understanding to get his jokes and anecdotes, hence 4 stars for the first third. The last third I was rather lost again and hence overall only a 3 star rating.
12month later my general knowledge re German history has defiantly increased! Adorno, Dada, too easy!
Knowledge gaps are still present for the more recent past however, especially post WW2. 68er, RAF, heard about all of them before but very hazy on what it actually means.
The book is great if you have the sufficient background knowledge and understanding to get his jokes and anecdotes, hence 4 stars for the first third. The last third I was rather lost again and hence overall only a 3 star rating.
April 23, 2017
I enjoyed 'Keeping up with the Germans', though I also felt it couldn't quite live up to the promise shown in the first chapter.
Philip Olterman can write, and I personally enjoyed the memoir parts of the book - no doubt very much helped by the fact that I also moved to the UK when seventeen, so many of the observations mirror my own experiences.
The Anglo-German encounters however are a bit of a mixed bag - some of them I very much liked (football being one of them, Helmut Kohl and Margaret Thatcher another) but others felt less interesting, and not always insightful.
I also can't escape the thought that Olterman is somewhat obsessed with Adorno, and often veers towards an Adorno anecdote without good reason...less would have been more in that case
Philip Olterman can write, and I personally enjoyed the memoir parts of the book - no doubt very much helped by the fact that I also moved to the UK when seventeen, so many of the observations mirror my own experiences.
The Anglo-German encounters however are a bit of a mixed bag - some of them I very much liked (football being one of them, Helmut Kohl and Margaret Thatcher another) but others felt less interesting, and not always insightful.
I also can't escape the thought that Olterman is somewhat obsessed with Adorno, and often veers towards an Adorno anecdote without good reason...less would have been more in that case
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews