Alex J. Craig reviews The Shortest History of Germany by James Hawes

iScot Book Review

James Hawes (Biteback Publishing)

Johann von Goethe by J. K. Stieler (1828)

Otto von Bismarck

It’s important that we keep hold of the facts that make up our past, that make us who we are and our country what it is

WRITING history is something everybody can do, isn’t it? After all, you just have to tell the story of what happened in the past. But it’s never so simple. Even those thousands of enthusiasts tracing their family history have to decide which details to put in and which to leave out. And details are important, because they’re the hard facts that attest to the reality of the past.

Those facts are especially important now, in an age when truth is invented on the hoof by politicians, and historical narratives rewritten to suit the moment. Remember the Clearances: all those happy folk singing sentimental Gaelic songs as they queued for the next train to a life of selffulfillment in the factories in the central belt. Remember Alex Salmond? Soon he’ll have been written out of all the history books. So it’s important that we keep hold of the facts that make up our past, that make us who we are and our country what it is.