There is something about the nature of this book that seems very much ahead of its time.
In the guise of an alternate future where the world has united against Germany, the author writes a character from the outside world who assumes a stolen identity in the barricaded and isolated city of Berlin- the last stronghold against the World Government, depicted as a black spot on the map that had haunted the protagonist.
In a fortuitous circumstance, he infiltrates this society and his guise is most perfectly suited for him. It seems only too easy thrashed would speak the language and find someone that closely resembles him as well as shared his profession, whom he could conveniently dispose of and therefore observe this world undetected. This is just part of the story- the tale of a man in culture shock but with an almost ethnographic eye for this bewildering world he finds himself in.
This is where this book really shines. It seems almost unbelievable this book was written almost a hundred years ago... and yet some things just don't change. People can have cultures which manifest the same basic needs and drives and impulses- universal motivations, that are expressed in a variety of different ways.
Some issues this book touches are still things we struggle with in the modern world. The idea of human worth, the value of resources, economic efficiency. Just how much humanity is worth sacrificing to maintain control? How much control can be exercised to manipulate the masses before they rebel? What kind of cost are we willing to pay for the enforcement of morals- furthermore what moral benefit what demographics? The ethical dilemmas of those days, the idea of German superiority, eugenics, genetics, human rights, female rights, ethnic cleansing. All huge issues in the 1920's... and still huge issues to this day.
Despite the decades that have passed, the ideas of this book are still very much alive. Although the protagonist has some views which seem fairly standard to a reader of today, his viewpoint must have been somewhat radical in a time when so much of the progress we take for granted today had not even happened yet.
I find it a most curious read. A bit light, somewhat preachy at times, but incredibly interesting and I would highly recommend it.
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Top reviews from other countries
rick gifford
A must read for sake of democracy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 7, 2021
Music Maven
A good old fashioned sci fi.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 25, 2015