The house by the lake: one house, five families, and a hundred years of German history
(Book)
A Finalist for the Costa Biography Award
Longlisted for the Orwell Prize
Named a Best Book of the Year by
The Times (London)
In the summer of 1993, Thomas Harding traveled to Germany with his grandmother to visit a small house by a lake on the outskirts of Berlin. It had been her "soul place," she said—a holiday home for her and her family, but also a refuge—until the 1930s, when the Nazis' rise to power forced them to leave.
The trip was his grandmother's chance to remember her childhood sanctuary as it was. But the house had changed, and when Harding returned once again nearly twenty years later, it was about to be demolished. It now belonged to the government, and as Harding began to inquire about whether the house could be saved, he unearthed secrets that had lain hidden for decades. Slowly he began to piece together the lives of the five families who had lived there: a wealthy landowner, a prosperous Jewish family, a renowned composer, a widow and her children, a Stasi informant. All had made the house their home, and all but one had been forced out.
The house had weathered storms, fires and abandonment, witnessed violence, betrayals and murders, and had withstood the trauma of a world war and the dividing of a nation. Breathtaking in scope and intimate in its detail, The House by the Lake is a groundbreaking and revelatory new history of Germany, told over a tumultuous century through the story of a small wooden house.
Harding, Thomas, -- 1968- -- Family.
Historic buildings -- Germany -- Berlin Suburban Area.
Historic buildings -- Germany -- Potsdam Region.
Jews -- Germany -- Potsdam -- Biography.
Meisel family.
Potsdam (Germany) -- Biography.
Potsdam (Germany) -- Buildings, structures, etc. -- History.
Potsdam (Germany) -- History, Local.
Vacation houses -- Germany -- Berlin Suburban Area.
Notes
Harding, T. (2016). The house by the lake: one house, five families, and a hundred years of German history. First U.S. edition. New York, Picador.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Harding, Thomas, 1968-. 2016. The House By the Lake: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History. New York, Picador.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Harding, Thomas, 1968-, The House By the Lake: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History. New York, Picador, 2016.
MLA Citation (style guide)Harding, Thomas. The House By the Lake: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History. First U.S. edition. New York, Picador, 2016.
Record Information
| Last Sierra Extract Time | Apr 17, 2024 07:26:36 PM |
|---|---|
| Last File Modification Time | Apr 17, 2024 07:27:15 PM |
| Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Apr 19, 2024 02:10:42 AM |
MARC Record
| LEADER | 03417pam 2200505 i 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | 2015044339 | ||
| 003 | DLC | ||
| 005 | 20160627115152.0 | ||
| 008 | 160125s2016 nyua b 001 0ceng | ||
| 010 | |a 2015044339 | ||
| 020 | |a 9781250065063 | ||
| 040 | |a DLC|b eng|e rda|c DLC|d NvReBT | ||
| 042 | |a pcc | ||
| 043 | |a e-gx--- | ||
| 049 | |a JRSA | ||
| 050 | 0 | 0 | |a DD901.P8|b H37 2016 |
| 082 | 0 | 0 | |a 943/.1546|2 23 |
| 099 | |a 943.1546 H263 2016 | ||
| 100 | 1 | |a Harding, Thomas,|d 1968-|e author. | |
| 245 | 1 | 4 | |a The house by the lake :|b one house, five families, and a hundred years of German history /|c Thomas Harding. |
| 250 | |a First U.S. edition. | ||
| 264 | 1 | |a New York :|b Picador,|c 2016. | |
| 300 | |a xix, 442 pages :|b illustrations (some color) ;|c 25 cm | ||
| 336 | |a text|2 rdacontent | ||
| 337 | |a unmediated|2 rdamedia | ||
| 338 | |a volume|2 rdacarrier | ||
| 504 | |a Includes bibliographical references (pages 361-414) and index. | ||
| 505 | 0 | |a "In the summer of 1993, Thomas Harding traveled to Germany with his grandmother to visit a small house by a lake on the outskirts of Berlin. It had been a holiday home for her and her family, but in the 1930s, she had been forced to flee to England as the Nazis swept to power. Nearly twenty years later, the house was government property and soon to be demolished. It was Harding's legacy, one that had been loved, abandoned, fought over--a house his grandmother had desired until her death. Could it be saved? And should it? As Harding began to make inquiries, he unearthed secrets that had lain hidden for decades about the lives of the five families who had lived there: a wealthy landowner, a prosperous Jewish family, a renowned composer, a widow and her children, and a Stasi informant. All had made the house their home, and all--bar one--had been forced out. The house had been the site of domestic bliss and of contentment, but also of terrible grief and tragedy. It had weathered storms, fires and abandonment; witnessed murders, had withstood the trauma of a world war, and the dividing of a nation. As the story of the house began to take shape, Harding realized that there was a chance to save it, but in doing so, he would have to resolve his own family's feelings towards their former homeland--and a hatred handed down through the generations. - For readers of Edmund de Waal, Daniel Mendelson, and David Laski"--Provided by publisher. | |
| 600 | 1 | 0 | |a Harding, Thomas,|d 1968-|x Family. |
| 600 | 3 | 0 | |a Alexander family. |
| 600 | 3 | 0 | |a Meisel family. |
| 650 | 0 | |a Historic buildings|z Germany|z Potsdam Region. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Jews|z Germany|z Potsdam|v Biography. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Vacation houses|z Germany|z Berlin Suburban Area. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Historic buildings|z Germany|z Berlin Suburban Area. | |
| 651 | 0 | |a Potsdam (Germany)|x History, Local. | |
| 651 | 0 | |a Potsdam (Germany)|x Buildings, structures, etc.|x History. | |
| 651 | 0 | |a Potsdam (Germany)|v Biography. | |
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