Germania

If diversion guides your choice of audiobooks, this wayward history of Germany will suit every mood. Whether driving, doing dishes, or dropping off into a nap, this irreverent, digressive narrative will hold you, or release you. James Cameron Stewart, though thoroughly British, or maybe because of that, proves the perfect narrator, holding a nice balance between erudition and whimsy. Winder is also the author of DANUBIA, and his is the sort of travel guide one loves to listen to and follow--especially with a pause button at hand. GERMANIA ends with the Nazis, but their shadow hangs over the narrative, a repeated point of reference as the author recounts Germanic legends and tries to square German nationalism with long centuries of fragmentation. Informative, insightful, often very funny, this is history as you like it, without all those mountains to climb, and without the Nazis. D.A.W. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine