Walking in Berlin: a Flaneur in the Capital

Author(s): Franz Hessel

Travel Narratives

A timeless guide to one of the world's greatest cities. Franz Hessel was an observer par excellence of the increasingly hectic metropolis that was Berlin in the late 1920s. In Walking in Berlin, originally published in Germany in 1929, he captures the rhythm of Weimar-era Berlin, recording evidence of the seismic shifts shaking German culture at the time. Nearly all of the pieces take the form of a walk or outing, focusing either on a theme or part of the city, and many end at a theatre, cinema, or club. Hessel effortlessly weaves historical information into his observations, displaying his extensive knowledge of the city. Today, many years after the Nazi era and the postwar reconstruction that followed, the areas he visited are all still prominent and interesting. From the Alexanderplatz to Kreuzberg, his record of them has become priceless. Superbly written, and as fresh today as when it first appeared, this is a book to be savoured.


Product Information

Selling points* A beautiful small hardback ideal for tillpoints and gifting. * A book for readers of Walter Benjamin, Christopher Isherwood, and Stefan Zweig, and, in our time, Rebecca Solnit, Geoff Dyer and Iain Sinclair. * Available in English for the first time, this will do well in general bookstores, galleries, and stores with a political focus (A small-format limited edition of a couple of the essays in this book sold rapidly in Berlin, London, and New York).

'Hessel is a modest master of spontaneous observation.' - Sabine Vogel, Berliner Zeitung;'a newly rediscovered treasure.' - Die Welt;'To this day, there is no better Berlin travel guide.' - Peter von Becker, Tagesspiegel;'... an absolutely epic book, a walking remembrance.' - Walter Benjamin;'When you think of Berlin in the 1920s, you cannot avoid thinking of the storyteller, critic and translator Franz Hessel.'- Manfred Papst recommends Spazieren in Berlin in the Neue Zuricher Zeitung (NZZ)

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General Fields

  • : 9781925321128
  • : Scribe Publications
  • : Scribe Publications
  • : December 2016
  • : Australia
  • : December 2016
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Franz Hessel
  • : Paperback
  • : 1216
  • : en
  • : 943.155
  • : 240