Summer of Freedom

“An enthralling you-were-there style narration…Hilmes has a gift for bringing the mighty down to human level…an immersive mosaic of a world in flux.” —Publishers Weekly

“This micro-history akin to Harald Jähner’s Aftermath will prompt much reflection, and readers will become invested in the lives of those who celebrated or mourned the end of the war…An impactful narrative of people adjusting to life after major upheaval, recommended for history buffs and book clubs.” —Library Journal

Praise for Berlin 1936:

“[Berlin 1936’s] publication earlier this year felt like a gift. Historian Oliver Hilmes has created an almost miniaturist narrative of the most controversial Olympics ever staged…Jefferson Chase’s excellent translation gives us taut prose that adds to the sense of unease.” —The Guardian, Best Books of the Year

“Memorable…Hilmes’s deceptively jaunty, even comic tone echoes that of the Games themselves.” —Financial Times, Best Books of the Year

Oliver Hilmes, born in 1971, studied history, politics, and psychology in Paris, Marburg, and Potsdam, and holds a doctorate in twentieth-century history. His best-selling work includes Malevolent Muse: The Life of Alma Mahler and Cosima Wagner: The Lady of Bayreuth. Most recently, he has published Franz Liszt: Musician, Celebrity, Superstar, Ludwig II.: Der unzeitgem e K nig, and Berlin 1936: Fascism, Fear, and Triumph Set Against Hitler’s Olympic Games.

Jefferson Chase is a writer and journalist based in Berlin. He has translated more than a dozen German texts into English, among them works by Thomas Mann, Wolfgang Schivelbusch, and G tz Aly.

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