Ben Donald's book was both frustrating and informative. It aims for a humorous look at those wacky Germans, which is a niche that is sadly under filled, given the sheer quantity of similar books focusing on the French, Italians or even Brits. There are just not a lot of fun ways to learn about German culture and customs or even books that just give a feel of the place.

Springtime for Germany has a bad beginning, starting as it does with the fictional and silly premise that the author comes under the helping hand of a travel therapist, because he has lost his love of exploring new places. This therapist, a ridiculous German American named Manny, send the author to various places in Germany, each time having his concentrate on a different aspect of the German soul. It also begins with a snarky tone of amused contempt for the Germans, which made the first few chapters less than enjoyable.

But as Donald proceeds along in his travels, he settles down and begins to be interesting. I've been living here and knew most of the cultural references to some degree or another, but he often was able to provide me with a deeper understanding of several of these. And it's always fun to run into references to these cultural tics, as they are not well known outside of Germany. For example, there is a New Year's tradition here to watch a short British film called Dinner for One. This is something every German is as familiar with as we in the US are with How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but I've never met a non-German who ever saw it. This guy knows German culture and he had some interesting things to say about the reasons Germans value order and rules so much and why it isn't a big deal for them to sit in a sauna naked with strangers.

All in all a useful and interesting book marred by the author's need to force the humor. He's genuinely amusing when he isn't trying so hard. ( )

This book was so much better than the cover might suggest. It is not a flippant account of Germany; instead it has depth and intelligence and is also an enjoyable read.
Ben Donald takes his weariness of travel as his narrative and takes us through his recovery from this weariness by therapy that involves discovering different aspects of Germany. He travels to different parts of the country and is privileged to meet some interesting people who give him an opportunity to get under the skin of the country and understand how it functions.
He finds a country hooked on romanticism and he links many of the big German themes to this; naturism, Oktober Fest, toy making and Christmas markets, walking and saunas/spas etc. He analyses what he sees during his travels in the book and offers the reader reasons for different behaviours and aspects.
I found this a good read; I like Germany and enjoy travelling there and have been many times. This book still gave me new insights into life in Germany and ideas for new places to visit. ( )