• ISBN13: 9780813337937

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Yes, parts of the history are portrayed as "romantic", esp. the Teutonic Knights, the landed aristocracy (Junkers), Frederick the Great et.al. , but so what ---- show me a history that doesn't describe the war mongering Napoleon in a similar light. The book is well tempered with the author's experience traveling through now Polish and Russian Prussia, describing the decay and ignorance of the local population with respect to relevance of historic sights (the use of the Hindenburg family cemetary as a garbage dump, with the former estate a collective farm is a case-in-point --> the locals claimed never to have heard of Hindenburg -----> the leveling of historic Koenigsberg and removal of 800 years of German history from East Prussia - including bulldozing cemetaries - is another). Both proud and disgracful history (witness Stutthof concentration camp) - its all here both inspiring and painful. And someone finally wrote it. Should be required reading in any Modern European history course - and would make a wonderful History Channel documentary.

21 of 24 found the following review helpful:


East Prussian American Looks Back and Forward  Mar 03, 2000 By John V. Proesch
My great grandmother came from near Danzig. Her name was Tarnowski, and obviously had Slavic origins. Her husband, a Proesch from Mecklenburg, was a descendant of the Slavic Abotrite tribes (ca. 800). They both considered themselves German. This book explained to me the ethic confusion of areas like Poland/Prussia. It also highlighted a fact that history has witnessed with Poland: You can wipe it off the map politically, but a Polish/Prussian sensibility will remain. What can this mean for the future? I believe Prussia is, indeed, not dead. Also, that WWIII is not neccesarily the inevitible result of such a conflict. Is the extinction of Prussia another Versailles-like offense to the German people, or can accommodation be made to deflate this "ethnic" horror? I welcome response.

13 of 14 found the following review helpful:


What of Prussia Today?  Oct 17, 1999
This is the first time I've read this author, and was impressed at the handling of the topic. Far from a dull citing of historical fact, he has brought a perspective on Prussia into the relevance by his "travels through the history of Prussia". As a modern Germany attempts to define itself in Europe, the look back at Prussian history may provide foundation or a map for the certain aspects of a new German future. Topics including the importance to Germany of Konigsberg, and the "ethnic cleansing" of the German territories after the war I've heard mentioned, but never in the first person as dramatically in the book's interviews. The photos further add to his "travels" quite well.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:


The Vanished Kingdom  Sep 12, 2005 By Thomas P. Folgert
I found this book to be quite enjoyable and easy to read. It was engrossing and I finished it in a few days. It was an area of history that has always interested me and the author did an excellent job of pulling it all together. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Prussian/German history.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:


Overall, just a great book  Jan 24, 2003 By F. A Castellon "Prime"
If you are interested in the Topic of Prussia, from it's early History, to it's Final, most Terrible finale; this is the book that you must read. It starts out from the very begining when the place we now call Prussia was just an empty barren landscape. The author takes us to the places where all the great cities and battles of the time took place, and tells us how Prussia looks at the time the book was written, about 3 years ago. He interviews the people who reside now as well. Sure, as some would say there is slander in his tone towards them but if you think of the overall picture maybe he s trying to tell us something about that. Form your own Opinion.

What really puts this book over the top into the Five Star realm is the last 3 chapters when he talks about the Thrid Reich. Specially about the "Trek" that most Prussians had to take in order to get away from the Russians. The tales of the misery, death and suffering is told by interviews from people who went through it. The assasination of Hitler is talked about and a very interesting read as well. There is even a very large interview with a Holocaust survivor that shows the darker side of the Thrid Reich.

Over all a great book and a must read if you want to know about Prussia. In fact it should be the only book you should get if you want to get a good, somewhat detailed overview of that old land where now no Germans reside. Simply a complete book with lots of interviews which in turn, as any reader would know, gets you straight to the point of the theme, without much imagination or thougth on your part.

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