"Herr Lehmann" by Sven Regener
The story centers around Herr Lehmann and his life as a bartender in Kreuzberg just before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The novel was adapted into a film in 2003 (watch this clip from the film which hilariously depicts its time). The book gives great insights into how West Berliners felt about their divided city, and all the details of the city, especially focusing on the Kreuzberg neighborhood.
"Berlin Alexanderplatz" by Alfred Döblin
Another Berlin neighborhood, Alexanderplatz, was once the heart of Berlin and is still a home to a diverse population. Set in the 1920s, this bok is about the life of Franz Biberkopf, a murderer recently released from prison, as he navigates life around Alexanderplatz, confronting misery, lack of opportunities, crime and the imminent ris of Nazism.
"The Gift" tells the story of a Russian writer Fyodor Godunov-Cherdyntsev living in Berlin and his love affair with Zina Mertz. It is filled with vivid descriptions of 1920s Berlin and focuses on the Russian émigré population in the city, where Nabokov himself once lived.
"Berlin. Portrait of a City" by Hans Christian Adam
Presenting the spirit of Berlin in a beautiful Taschen style, this book is a photographic journey through the city's history. It offers pages of aerial views, street scenes, portraits, and more, tracing it from the roaring 20s through the ruins of war, to its rebirth as political and cultural capital. Quotes from famed Berlin icons and connoisseurs, from Marlene Dietrich to David Bowie, accompany the images.
Image credits: Berlin. Portrait of a City, Hans Christian Adam. Taschen
Image credits: Berlin № 2 by Cee Cee Berlin
Image credits: Living in Style Berlin, Stephanie von Pfuel
Image credits: Goodbye to Berlin, Christopher Isherwood
"Living in Style Berlin" by Stephanie von Pfuel
This book portrays a wide range of exclusive living options in our metropolis, a city that has transformed like no other in the last 30 years. It takes you on a tour of many stylish homes of Berlin.
This book immerses readers in the carefree spirit of Berlin’s Weimar era. Through exemplary works in painting, sculpture, architecture, graphic design, photography and film, it uncovers all sorts of characteristics of the time, from the economic to the nightlife, from the political to the debauchery.
Cee Cee is one of Berlin’s most widely read online media and a weekly newsletter popular among Berliners. Now published in two consecutive editions, each book offers valuable tips on all-things Berlin, including hidden cafés and neighborhood bars, concept stores and specialty restaurants, as well as countryside destinations, along with dedicated recommendations from locals.
"Architectural Guide Berlin" by Dominik Schendel
Presented as four excursions, this guide takes us to prominent architectural highlights from Kurfürstendamm in the West to the prefab housing communities of the East. With its comprehensive maps and full-format aerial photographs, this book is an ideal companion for exploring the architecture of Berlin.
Whether you want to deepen your knoweldge about Berlin and its captivating cultural and architectual sites or immerse yourself in a fiction book that takes you back to the roaring '20, our selection of books about Berlin will serve as your guide through a literary exploration of our maginificent city.
