A Most Dangerous Book

Resumen del libro

-A model of popular intellectual history. . . . In every way, ?A Most Dangerous Book is a most brilliant achievement.--Washington Post

When the Roman historian Tacitus wrote the Germania, a none-too-flattering little book about the ancient Germans, he could not have foreseen that centuries later the Nazis would extol it as -a bible- and vow to resurrect Germany on its grounds. But the Germania inspired-and polarized-readers long before the rise of the Third Reich. In this elegant and captivating history, Christopher B. Krebs, a professor of classics at Harvard University, traces the wide-ranging influence of the Germania, revealing how an ancient text rose to take its place among the most dangerous books in the world.

-Fascinating. . . . Krebs has a light touch and a dry sense of humor.--New York Times

-Clever, learned. . . . Krebs synthesizes a great deal of classical scholarship and intellectual history into a concise, accessible story.--Slate

-It is an extraordinary tale, and Mr. Krebs . . . tells it with great verve and charm.--Wall Street Journal

-A dramatic detective story.--London Review of Books

Christopher B. Krebs, a classics professor at Harvard University, has published widely on the Roman historians and their afterlives. He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.