As a symbol of longing, the wild goose runs through recent history. When life in the cities of the 19th century becomes unbearable, it points the way to nature. In Selma Lagerlöf's novel Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise, it unites the Swedish nation by revealing the meaning of community to a misguided boy, which also becomes an example for German readers. During World War I, it is sung about by soldiers in the trenches and soon after becomes ubiquitous in European culture: as an emblem of nature conservation, a revolutionary hero in Bertolt Brecht's works, and as the "character of the North" in the works of Bengt Berg, a wildlife photographer and writer whose dreams of Germanic primeval landscapes influenced Nazi ideology.
The wild goose appears in film, art, and even science, where zoologist Konrad Lorenz believes he has discovered in the greylag goose the endangered foundations of human coexistence threatened by civilization. Wherever the wild goose appears, it becomes a cipher of a world in upheaval.
In his captivating exploration, Thomas Steinfeld traces its path – presenting a portrait of the 20th century like we have never seen before.
"One must admire Thomas Steinfeld for this book." Die Welt about Goethe
