Overview

In the twenty years since its original publication, The Ghosts of Berlin has become a classic, an unparalleled guide to understanding the presence of history in our built environment, especially in a space as historically contested—and emotionally fraught—as Berlin. Brian Ladd examines the ongoing conflicts radiating from the remarkable fusion of architecture, history, and national identity in Berlin. Returning to the city frequently, Ladd continues to survey the urban landscape, traversing its ruins, contemplating its buildings and memorials, and carefully deconstructing the public debates and political controversies emerging from its past.

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9780226558721

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Reviews

[Ladd's] well-written and well-illustrated book amounts to a brief history of the city as well as a guide to its landscape. --Anthony Grafton New York Review of Books

""Ladd examines the conflicts radiating from [Berlin's] remarkable fusion of architecture, history and national identity.""-- ""History Today"" ""Ladd's balanced, sensitive chronicle of the Berlin's traumatized topography brings the past into focus.""-- ""Harvard Design Magazine"" ""[Ladd's] well-written and well-illustrated book amounts to a brief history of the city as well as a guide to its landscape.""--Anthony Grafton ""New York Review of Books"" ""A superb guide to this process of urban self-definition, both past and present.""-- ""Wall Street Journal"" ""With erudition, insight, and restraint, Brian Ladd carries off the dangerous task of analyzing architecture and urbanism in Berlin in terms of its horrific political past. He convincingly argues that architecture embodies ideological meaning more powerfully than other artifacts of a society.""-- ""New York Times Book Review"" ""Ladd's book is absorbing. More than a portrait of a fraught city, it is a reminder that not just 'good design' is at stake in the built world and its traces."" -- ""Architects' Journal""

[Ladd's] well-written and well-illustrated book amounts to a brief history of the city as well as a guide to its landscape. --Anthony Grafton New York Review of Books A superb guide to this process of urban self-definition, both past and present. --Wall Street Journal With erudition, insight, and restraint, Brian Ladd carries off the dangerous task of analyzing architecture and urbanism in Berlin in terms of its horrific political past. He convincingly argues that architecture embodies ideological meaning more powerfully than other artifacts of a society. --New York Times Book Review Ladd examines the conflicts radiating from [Berlin's] remarkable fusion of architecture, history and national identity. --History Today Ladd's balanced, sensitive chronicle of the Berlin's traumatized topography brings the past into focus. --Harvard Design Magazine Ladd's book is absorbing. More than a portrait of a fraught city, it is a reminder that not just 'good design' is at stake in the built world and its traces. --Architects' Journal

Author Information

Brian Ladd is an urban historian and research associate at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

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