Forgotten Land

East Prussia is no longer on any map, though it was once a thriving land, famously military, deeply forested, artistically fertile, and the birthplace of Immanuel Kant. As the scene of Stalins terrible revenge it came to embody the turbulence of the twentieth century, was carved up between Poland and the USSR after World War II and passed abruptly into history. Embarking on a remarkable journey through landscape and memory, Max Egremont has woven the stories of ghosts and survivors into an evocative and deeply moving meditation on identity and the passing of time. East Prussias successful evocation demands both the mind of a poet who can delineate the scale of human loss, and the imagination of an historian who knows how to count the cost. Forgotten Land, a work of consummate artistry, blends both capacities to rare effect Spectator Changing frontiers, blurred racial identities, shifting allegiances and the mass movement of people this a story for our time New Statesman Illuminating. A literary map to a beguiling hidden enclave of Europe Metro Egremonts compelling tale exploits his boundless intellectual curiosity, mastery of German and eye for whimsy as well as tragedy. The books canvas is remarkable. Fascinating reading Max Hastings, Sunday Times