author

Thomas F. A. Smith

b. 1875

Best known for writing about Germany from the inside during the years leading up to World War I, this early 20th-century author brought a close observer’s eye to politics, culture, and public opinion. His work still appeals to readers curious about how Europe looked and felt on the eve of war.

1 Audiobook

What Germany Thinks; Or, The War as Germans see it

What Germany Thinks; Or, The War as Germans see it

by Thomas F. A. Smith

About the author

Thomas F. A. Smith was an early 20th-century writer whose surviving books focus on Germany and European affairs. Reliable catalog and ebook sources connected him with The Soul of Germany: A Twelve Years' Study of the People from Within, 1902–1914 and What Germany Thinks; Or, The War as Germans See It.

Project Gutenberg’s text of What Germany Thinks identifies him as "Thomas F.A. Smith, Ph.D." and describes him as a late English lecturer at the University of Erlangen. That background fits the strong firsthand perspective in his writing, which tries to explain German ideas, attitudes, and wartime arguments to English-language readers.

Not much biographical detail was easy to confirm from dependable sources, so his books remain the clearest window into his life and interests. What stands out is a writer deeply engaged with the intellectual and political climate of prewar and wartime Germany, and still worth reading for historical atmosphere as well as argument.