This cultural-historical book is the declaration of love for Berlin of a half-Jew who was born and grew up in a typical Berlin neighborhood. Now he lives in the United States, but his roots are still in Berlin. According to The Nuremberg Laws of 1936, he is a Mischling ersten Gradees, a half Jew, but is referred to by many Berliners as a Mampe Halb und Halb, a well-known bitter and herbal liqueur. The book depicts, among other things, life in a Berlin neighborhood with its language, its mixture of heart and snout; growing up with Jewish blood in his veins in the Third Reich; and living during the war and in the post-war era. Until 1945 the authors life vacillated between the twins Eros and Thanatos, but Eros was the stronger of the two.

Gerd K. Schneider taught German literature and culture for over forty years at Syracuse University in the state of New York. He is the author of twelve books and over fifty articles, especially on Arthur Schnitzler, Inge Merkel, Friedrich Nietzsche, and mythology.