An endlessly fascinating family memoir, Endpapers tells the story of Kurt Wolff a renowned Jewish publisher who published the likes of Franz Kafka but had to flee Nazi era Germany fearing persecution. Determined to trace the footsteps of his grandfather, Alexander Wolff the noted American sports journalist, moves to Berlin with his family, embarking on a quest to research and write this memoir. What follows is an expertly crafted narrative of life and politics in Berlin and his family history, stitched together from archival material, photographs, letters and diary entries. An unputdownable piece of memoir writing, Endpapers includes exquisite details such as this: "Only occasionally did the children cross paths with some visiting literary figure, such as Rabindranath Tagore, who came by for lunch the year my father was born. "With his long grayish-white beard and great dignity he presented a most impressive figure," Kurt would recall forty years later."

This was such a wonderful read, totally compelling and captivating, an intimate family chronicle and a mixture of history, politics and literature, beautifully written, an astonishing story of a remarkable family. Alexander Wolff has thoroughly researched his family, in particular his renowned publisher grandfather Kurt Wolff and his father Niko who fought for Hitler before emigrating to the United States. And then there is Elisabeth Merck, Kurt’s first wife, whose family pharmaceutical firm became entwined with Hitler’s destiny. So many threads, so many fascinating characters, all expertly woven together making this one of the most absorbing family biographies I have ever read.

Longtime writer at Sports Illustrated, Alexander Wolff spent a year in Berlin unearthing papers, letters, artifacts, and documents related to his family history, particularly his father and paternal grandfather. Endpapers is the result. Wolff tells his family story in 3 parts. His grandfather, Kurt Wolff, fled Nazi Germany in 1933 and sought refuge in Italy and France before fleeing to the United States with his second wife and starting Pantheon Books. He would take his place in literary history by publishing Doctor Zhivago as well as many other major European works. Interspersed with Kurt’s story is the story of Wolff’s father, Niko. Niko was left behind in Germany with his mother, Elizabeth Merck, who was divorced from Kurt and whose family owned the giant pharmaceutical firm E. Merck that had ties to the Nazis.. Niko served the German army on 2 fronts before finding his way to America. The third part of this book is also interspersed with the other two threads, and it tells about Wolff’s time in Berlin living immersed in today’s German culture and turning up family secrets that he never knew existed. Endpapers is a story of family, war, choices, consequences, triumphs, and soul searching. A detailed biography and historical record, this book is at its heart a sons search for where he and his came from and the reckoning he must face when the answers he uncovers are unlike any he ever dreamed.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy to review. All opinions are my own.

Alexander Wolff, a longtime writer at Sports Illustrated, spent a year in Europe researching the history of his family, especially his father and grandfather. Grandfather Kurt Wolff was the famous publisher known for his work with such giants as Boris Pasternak and Franz Kafka. Kurt’s association with avant-garde writers and his partial Jewish ancestry led him to flee Nazi in 1933, leading a peripatetic exile life in Europe before finally moving to New York City with his second wife, Helen, and founding Pantheon Books.

Kurt left his teenage children by his first wife behind with her. Kurt was able to get his son Niko (Alexander’s father) papers that allowed him not only to avoid discrimination, but to serve in the Wehrmacht during World War II as a driver and mechanic. After the war, Niko was able to emigrate to the US.

Alexander’s exploration of his grandfather’s colorful life and his enigmatic father is sympathetic. But he goes further afield, into his connections to the Merck chemical company, for example. This is an impressive melding of literary history, political history, and an always interesting and often surprising family history.

This wonderfully written family history of survival and art is Alexander Wolff's attempt at reconciling the diametrically opposite experiences of his family in World War II and coming to terms with their complicity in the events. If that sounds like a complicated undertaking, the book weaves it in so beautifully, it's like an experience reading it. I started it, expecting it to be along the lines of The House of Wittgenstein, but it's very different, with very different aims. One would think World War II has been examined multiple times, but this book shows that it's when we stop examining evil, that we leave ourselves open to it.
Kurt Wolff, the legendary publisher of all the stars of early 20th Century literature, including Kafka and Franz Werfel-basically everyone the Nazis included in 'degenerate art', was Alexander Wolff's grandfather. He was forced to flee Nazi Germany with his wife Helen, and through a tortuous route including a stint at the infamous Vel d'Hiver, reached America. Alexander Wolff's father, on the other hand, Niko Wolff, was conscripted into the Nazi Army, made it out alive, and with Kurt Wolff's help, also migrated to America. Wolff moved to Berlin for an immersive research experience, so that through the experiences of his own family, he could explore Germany's attempts with coming to terms with the country's Nazi past, a sort of generational atonement and true remembrance of crimes past to learn from history and the necessity of that for America. While Wolff focuses on America, since he's from that, and he wrote this book against the backdrop of Trump's Presidency, the universality of the themes explored make it extremely relevant, and crucial, for countries across the world, since right wing populism is frighteningly on the rise everywhere.
The narrative has 3 distinctive strands-a potted history of the author's family, tracing back to the 19th Century, the growing roots of anti-Semitism with a more detailed account of Kurt Wolff's amazing life, told through his extremely evocative letters and diary entries, filled in the beginning with literary superstars whom he discovered, and who are now part of the canon, Niko WOlff's boyhood, conscription, experiences in World War 2.The third narrative strand is the beautifully nuanced of Wolff's life in Berlin, his efforts and interviews to unearth his family history while also tracing the efforts Germany has made as a country to come to a reckoning with a complicated recent history of violence, and the implementation of policies to shape national thought, as safeguards against a repeat of the past. The chapters on Kurt Wolff are wonderful, set against the flowering of art and culture in the Weimar Republic, the sparkling salons while the economy was tanking, hyperinflation was driving people to starvation ( a very telling anecdote being Kurt WOlff paying employees of his publishing house everyday, because by the next day their currency value would have substantially devalued). I wouldn't have minded a far longer book about Kurt and Helen WOlff, and their amazing knack at picking talent to publish. While those were my favourite parts of the book, each section is absolutely fascinating, and at no instance does Wolff try to play down the part of this family in World War II, even though he wasn't directly responsible for anything. What's emphasized constantly is how easy it is for the history book on the shelf to repeat itself ( in the wise immortal words of ABBA), when we don't confront unsavoury aspects of our culture head-on. WOlff draws parallels to America's unwillingness to reckon with slavery, and Confederate flags and iconography not being banned for being the symbols of an unbelievably repressive system but a far more harmless heritage, which leads to an increasing valorisation of a past that never was. This applies universally to all countries seeing rising fascism-India, for instance, completely ignores the appalling caste system that Hinduism is based on, leading to the rise of a muscular right-wing fascist HIndu ideology that yearns for a supposed glorious past where there was an overclass that kept the rest of us in our places, most specifically women. It's very moving to read of Germany's attempts to remember how this happened, and the parts everyone played it. It makes the slogans of "Never Forget" more than mere hashtags-those are precepts to live by and make a conscious attempt at not forgetting, and not ignoring facts that don't fit into uncomplicated narratives.
THis was such a moving, thought-provoking insightful book that my only complaint is that it could have been twice as long and would still be as compelling. THanks for the ARC #GroveAtlantic #NetGalley

Alexander Wolff, the author of this compelling book, traveled to Germany to research his family's fascinating history. After living more than a year in Berlin he pieced together a vast amount of information compiled from articles, books, diaries and other documents in his quest to learn about his grandfather and father. This book is the result.

Narrated chronologically in sections divided into years, we first learn background history then move onto specific family history. Punctuated with photographs (two of my favourites are those of Wolff's great grandparents with Brahms and the other the "daily harvest!) and excerpts from diaries and documents, the story really comes alive with energy, poignancy and many surprises. The family is intelligent, musical and literary.

Kurt Wolff, the author's grandfather, born in Germany and left in 1933. is the social and outgoing publisher of Kafka. He goes on to run Pantheon in New York. Niko, the author's father, was quieter and was left behind in Germany. During the war he served for the Nazis, though Jewish, by driving a delivery truck. Elisabeth Merck, the author's grandmother, was from pharmaceutical powerhouse Merck.

This book is chock full of interesting personal information. Many things stand out in my mind which include the questions Wolff asks himself such as, did his father carry guilt for working with the Nazis and of what should he himself be ashamed of?

Kurt's war descriptions are so powerful and gut wrenching yet beautiful. Niko writes of the fabulous food he ate in WWII while at work, a huge contrast to those impoverished. However, he doesn't write food details with arrogance but as a matter of fact. Both have very human sides. The family endured much sorrow and many hardships. The parting images in the last chapter were evocative.

Readers who enjoy learning more about personal experiences during war and about publishing should read this. It would appeal to History and Nonfiction readers in general.

My sincere thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this intriguing book. Much appreciated.