Name: The German Genius
ISBN: 9781416526155

Peter Watson

The German Genius

Scordatura

An incredibly thorough study of German culture, science, art and philosophy and its influence on the West.

Watson not only offers an exhaustive history of seemingly unlimited German cultural and scientific achievements (and a very interesting analysis on what he thinks caused them) but also makes a very convincing argument on how much Germany has influenced the (modern) world. 
Aside from that, it's a fascinating story of Bach, Kant, Marx, Goethe, Einstein, Gödel, Krupp, the Humboldt brothers, Lang, Feuchtwanger and so many others. Even though Watson doesn't shy away from the world wars and the holocaust (it's a crucial part of his work in fact) the title of the book is spot on.