Most Dangerous Book: Tacitus's Germania from the Roman Empire to the Third Reich

The New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice.
Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year.
Choice Outstanding title.
Winner of Phi Beta Kappa's 2012 Christian Gauss Book Award.


"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. 14 illustrations