The Author's interest in Berlin began in earnest in 1963 during a year spent teaching English in the West Berlin district of Neukolln. Some of the material was collected at that time but far more has amassed over the years so that it now constitutes a documented, fully illustrated account of how the city has developed from earliest times to the present. Personal reminiscences are included; so, too, are sections on Berlin character and humour. The material is varied, as is the story of this immensely alluring city whose involvement in the dark years of two dictatorships as well as two world wars has not prevented it from recovering like the phoenix, literally from the ashes of World War II, to become the world capital it is again today. His stated chief aim has been to present a non-specialist account for the general reader and his hope is that readers will find as much enlightenment from reading it as he has had pleasure in writing it.