Luckily the intelligent insight of Honigstein's journalism shines through in the book as he pieces together the entertaining journey and the reasons behind it.
He neatly sidesteps the temptation to wallow in the glory of the games that led to the final in Brazil, interspersing moments from the victorious 2014 campaign with flashbacks to events from 2004 (and, in cases, before). It's a neat device that subtly shows how the pieces of the puzzle all fitted together and how events in Brazil were the direct culmination of plans put in place and lessons learned over a decade or more.
It's perhaps timely to read Honigstein's book now, at a moment when English football is searching for its umpteenth new dawn and another new manager at the helm of the national side. I couldn't help but come away feeling that England are light years behind Germany. Maybe the FA board all ought to have a leaf through Das Reboot before making their next move.
So, how did they do it? Well, Honigstein offers fascinating detail about the key ways in which German football, to quote the subheader, 'reinvented itself and conquered the world'. We see how new coaches and a new manager embrace new tactics and a fresh approach. We also see the importance of learning lessons from other sports - notably hockey - and a more professional approach to the sport. As Honigstein notes, other jobs had long-carried a need for qualifications, standards and regulations - so why not football? This manifests itself in the form of better academies - graded by strict standards and rewarded financially for meeting them - many more trained coaches and the need for players to be smart off the field as well as on it.
It's a system that produces technically and mentally astute young players who are ready for the Bundesliga and beyond. An interesting contrast with the transfer-obsessed Premier League. The next step, it seems, will be to demand certain standards of the people who take the role of sporting director - something still laughably derided in some circles in this country. German football also learned to wean itself off a soap-opera style form of coverage of games, which carried an obsession of the 'character' of the players and the role of key leaders.
There are also interesting passages on the use of technology. From a bespoke app for the 2014 squad to use to share clips and analysis of themselves and their opponents to a 'Footbonaut' machine that helps players to prepare for the unexpected in the heat of the battle on the field. The latter, it seems, could be seen to have directly contributed to the goal scored by Mario Götze.
Honigstein also looks at the Swabian influence behind the footballing revolution in Germany - from Klinsmann and Löw to Klopp, Tuchel, Ralf Rangnick and beyond - and the way this hard-working, financially successful region with a penchant for problem-solving became so important.
Then, of course, there's the insight to the World Cup campaign itself. From the disastrous pre-tournament camp to the tactical criticism of Löw and the struggles against Ghana and Algeria, its fascinating to see how the squad faced up to setbacks. It's easy for English fans, from the outside, to slip into stereotypes and presume the German football team is a slick, calm operation that doesn't have the same problems that befell 'our boys'. This shows that that is nonsense. Löw's side simply learned from its mistakes and reacted better to the problems it encountered.
Equally fascinating was the reaction to the 7-1 trouncing of Brazil in the semi final. The players almost feel a little guilty at having so comprehensively destroyed the dreams of their hosts. They are also annoyed at conceding a late goal in a game in which, amazingly, they had fewer attempts and fewer shots on target than the Brazil team that they so royally thumped and are desperate to guard against getting carried away after a result in which, frankly, most of us would've been extremely 'carried away'. Still, that's another lesson learned from the past and another mark of what made them worthy world champions.
Returning to England, though, is there really anything here that we should learn? The Germans, after all, won through long term investment, a brave approach and by treating football with the same seriousness as other sectors in the economy. Perhaps, without getting too deep, we should be worried that we don't have an equally successful industrial model to transplant onto football in this country?
Das Reboot is a superbly-written account of a fascinating story. It adds extra detail and insight to familiar events - including chapters in the words of Thomas Hitzlsperger and Arne Friedrich - as well rich new material. It's evey bit as good as the title promises.
