Germania, Winder - C, Incomplete

                                                The author is an editor at Penguin in London and this book is subtitled  'The Wayward Pursuit Of Germans And Their History'.   It is perhaps categorizable as a series of personal observations and explanations, stemming from his travels through Germany and Austria.  His follow-up book 'Danubia' was published last year and although he states in its introduction that it is not necessary to have read 'Germania' first, I figured I might as well.  His portrayal of German history is a bit offbeat. He wanders all over the place in his travels and relates back to some distant era of history by focusing on a specific place. So, he cites Quedlinburg as the burial place of Henry the Fowler, and uses that city to explain Germany at the turn of the first millennium.  It's a different approach, but an effective one. He uses the term fissiparous (tending to break up in parts) to explain and illustrate how power, wealth, and population were scattered around hundreds of Germany's cities.  Those cities, margraves, bishoprics, duchies, mini-kingdoms and principalities were all part of the loosely constructed Holy Roman Empire for over a thousand years.  This lack of centralization is a defining aspect of German history and culture.  As there was no one trying to establish a centralized state, no London or Paris ever emerged. As he moves through the passage of time, he adeptly evokes the horror and destruction of the Thirty Years War. He credits Napoleon with the positive act of decreasing the number of German governments from over 200 to a mere 39. But as the book wore, the witticisms began to outweigh the insights and history. At the one week mark and two-thirds of the way through this book, I decided to throw in the towel . He stops the book before the Nazi takeover and as tempting as it might be to hear what he had to say about Wilhelm II or von Hindenberg,  I demurred. I might add that I had already deleted 'Danubia'.  I guess eclectic, witty history is not my style.