The well-known contemporary author entertainingly and satirically uncovers true motives and new connections in German history. If history had been taught like this in school... It can be so fascinating, especially when a great storyteller narrates it with such profound knowledge and in such an entertaining manner. In the fifth volume of his German history, Herbert Rosendorfer focuses on the Baroque period, characterized by the tension between the fear of death and the joy of life, the Turkish Wars, the Siege of Vienna in 1683, and the pushback against Islam. Along the way, he also provides a cultural historical overview from 1650 to 1750.