Stephen R A'Barrow
Author, Traveller and Historian
DEATH OF A NATION - A New History of Germany
Death of a Nation is an engrossing, meticulously researched history of Germany from 105 BC to the present day, vividly illustrating the rich and complex past of a nation that is so often defined by the events of World War Two.
The author, Stephen R A’Barrow, spent twenty years researching, travelling and writing to compile this account of the country’s varied and fascinating history. As a result, he proves that Germany’s past has so much more of interest than simply the twelve years of domination by Hitler and National Socialism.
The book opens with the battles of the Roman Empire in the first century BC; the role of the Holy Roman Empire in the Crusades; German settlement across Central and Eastern Europe and the Thirty Years War. The author goes on to address the militarist stereotype of Prussia; Prussia and Germany’s rise to shatter the European balance of power; the causes and consequences of the wars initiated by Germany and how they shaped the modern world.
One of the most important themes is the frequently overlooked question of the treatment of German civilians during the last days of World War Two and the immediate aftermath. Illuminating and authoritative, Death of a Nation seeks to provide an accurate understanding of German and European history, and how it affects the world we live in today.
Buy Death of a Nation on Amazon UK or Amazon US
ISBN 1910298492
BRAZIL - The Good, the Bad and the Megafugly
This book is a mix of pathos, combining Bill Bryson styled travelogue with Jeremy Clarkson attitude (with a capital A). The book offers both a cerebral expose on the rapid change that is occurring in Brazil combined with hilarious, often outrageous anecdotes of the authors personal experiences as an expat South of the Border.
There are few English language books that provide such candid detail on all aspects of this Latin American destination, yet in, the good, the bad and the megafugly.
A’Barrow presents the information in a devilishly brilliant way, asking pertinent questions and providing oftentimes hilarious answers which are fuelled with stories from his personal battles with the system, bureaucratic officialdom, mosquito’s, catastrophic infrastructure, police and the ‘equipment’ in the nation’s love motels.
Buy Brazil: The Good, the Bad and the Megafugly on Amazon UK or Amazon US
ISBN 1909984205
Review from ‘Amazon.co.uk’.
"There are few English language books that provide such candid detail on all aspects of this Latin American destination. Yes, the good, the bad and the megafugly! In this Bill Bryson travelogue meets Jeremy Clarkson attitude (with a capital A), British expat Stephen A'Barrow, delivers a devilishly brilliant cerebral expose on Brazil's rapid development with eye-popping cultural insights from his own experience of living South of the Border for six years. He asks pertinent questions and provides oftentimes hilarious answers which are fueled with stories from his own battles with the system, bureaucratic officialdom, mosquito’s, catastrophic infrastructure, police and the ‘equipment’ in the nation’s love Motels. Even when describing the historical elements that bought the Portuguese to the shores of Brazil, there is never a dull moment in this unusual travelogue."
*****
Review from ‘Travelling Book Junkie’.
"Stephen comes across as an astute individual who has composed a book which is both perceptive and light-hearted in places. Readers, take note – read it the manner in which it has been written; it is both frank and entertaining – if you remember this you will enjoy it."
***
Review from ‘Amazon.co.uk’.
"Having no experience of Brazil or the Americas (as opposed to the USA) I found this to be a hugely entertaining, informative and absorbing read. Brazil is now a target destination for me and I can almost feel the rhythm of the samba in anticipation. A right rollicking read and one I thoroughly recommend whether you intend to sample the truly multicultural but patriotic lifestyle or not. Learn what integration really means. Grasp the reality of national identity. Discover how far apart Mars and Venus are(!) and laugh your maracas loose along the way."
*****
Review from ‘Sounds and Colours’.
"The tone is unapologetically laddish. No skirt is left unturned, no teta unobserved, no bunda baulked. It then moves on to football, pauses at women and booze, stops at Carnaval and stag and hen nights before moving off to the heights of plastic surgery, where Brazil’s medical profession racks up some impressive statistics.
Thence, we’re off at a good pace to those areas of life south of the equator which drive Northern Europeans and Americans bananas if not nuts. There is mindless bureaucracy, pathetic ineptitude, invincible ignorance, learned helplessness, all the elements you find in places where the lore of the land is systemic corruption. Pour me a Pirassununga 51, or ten."
*****