Berlin is regarded as the laboratory of modernism. After the First World War it became the epicenter of continental culture and sophistication thanks to its decadent charm. Whether in case of fashion, music, cabaret, theatre and film, there was no way around Berlin, also considered the great pleasure dome of Europe. This book delights with daily life impressions through rare unseen pictures, documents and music of the time. But it also provides a deeper historical retrospective, describing contrasts between elegance and hardship, glance and dread during the turbulent decades of the 1920s up to the 1950s. ”This book is a lavish musical and visual homage to pre-war Berlin … It'll grace your coffee table and hi-fi for weeks and months to come.” - Vintage Jazz Mart