The brave A photographic portrait of Berlin, 1860 to today Berlin has survived two world wars, two totalitarian regimes, extreme financial hardship, and a wall that separated friends, families, lovers, compatriots and coworkers . In 1989, the city was reunited, and has emerged as a thriving, thrilling center of European influence, culture and creativity.
A quarter century on from the Mauerfall that reunited West and East Berlin, this photographic portrait, now available as a popular Reader’s Edition , presents the story of Berlin from 1860 until today . From giddy pictures of the Roaring Twenties to devastating images of war to such as the Reichstag wrapped by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, this is the most comprehensive photographic study on Berlin ever made , replete with emotion and atmosphere.
Among the photographs are works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton, René Burri, Robert Capa, Thomas Struth, and Wolfgang Tillmans as well as well-known Berlin photo-chroniclers such as Friedrich Seidenstücker, Erich Salomon, Willy Römer, and Heinrich Zille.
Eloquent, evocative tributes from the likes of Vladimir Nabokov, Alfred Döblin, Herwarth Walden, Marlene Dietrich, Billy Wilder, Willy Brandt, Helmut Newton, Sir Simon Rattle, and David Bowie give resonant voice to the imagery and articulate not only Berlin’s civic and architectural space, but also the hope and strength of its inhabitants and its soul. About the Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price ! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, the name TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together nearly 100 of our all-time favorite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia. Bookworm’s delight — never bore, always excite ! Text in English, French, and German
'Taschen is an art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. It began as Taschen Comics publishing Benedikt's extensive comic collection. Taschen has been a noteworthy force in making lesser-seen art available to mainstream bookstores, including some fetishistic imagery, queer art, historical erotica, pornography and adult magazines (including multiple books with Playboy magazine). Taschen has helped bring this art into broader public view, by publishing these potentially controversial volumes alongside its more mainstream books of comics reprints, art photography, painting, design, fashion, advertising history, film, and architecture.' - Wikipedia
A wonderful photographic history of Berlin that covers the entire period from it's growth as imperial capital in the late 19th Century though to WW1 and then it's rebirth as the capital of decadence in Weimar Germany, through the rise of the Nazis and it's eventual almost total destruction, then it's rebirth after 1945 as a divided city between East and West, and then latest rebirth after 1989 as the new capital of cool in a reunited Germany.
It's remarkable how much changes each decade. You have the decadence of the Weimar period in the 1920s, the Nazi period in the 1930s, the destruction of war in the 1940s, the rebirth in the 1950s, the division in the 1960s etc. In the 1920s no one seems to be a Nazi, within ten years there are huge parades for Hitler's 50th birthday, a few years later the city (and Europe) is being destroyed, and immediately post-war everyone in Berlin is a victim. I wonder what the next ten years will bring.
Berlin is shown in many shades here, from upstart optimism in the 1900s, the debauchery of the 1920s, to ruins in the late 1940s, and finally reunification in the 1990s. This book magnificently guides the reader through all of those historical snapshots with insightful pictures and essays.
If you are interested in Berlin and cities in general, I think this whole series is a good read.