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janichkokov's review against another edition
3.0
I wish this was a more scholarly book, but I will admit I enjoyed it, learned a lot, and suspect that I will be returning to it at some point for band names and places.
ekarcha's review against another edition
3.0
Anarchist punks did far more to bring down the Berlin Wall and the DDR than that shitbird Reagan ever did.
sparklethenpop's review against another edition
4.0
This book was fascinating. I picked it up because of the punk angle but ended up learning so much about a country that ceased to exist when I was 10 years old.
bsmorris's review against another edition
5.0
A quote from an interview with the author really sums this one up: "This book is sort of a corrective to the Western triumphal view that has become almost an article of faith at this point." It's a compelling story of the struggles and sacrifices made to bring down the East German dictatorship, not out of worship for the West, not in the service of hyper-individualism and profit, not in the search for Levis, hamburgers, and Reaganism, but in the hope of building something far better than capitalism. We often learn about people who wanted to escape life behind the Iron Curtain, but this is the story of those who instead stayed and worked for an egalitarian society that provides for all its people, not just the lucky few.
the_old_gray_cat's review against another edition
5.0
A history of the last decade of East Germany, told through the prism of the punk rock movement.
Mohr, a former Berlin DJ, writes in a lively way and has interviewed scads of the punks who were tortured and went to prison for their ideas and outfits.
I learned so much about East Germany from this book. My heart went out to the youths with "too much future": facing a life where their jobs (and it was illegal to be unemployed), educational level, where they lived, and what they wore was controlled by the state.
Mohr, a former Berlin DJ, writes in a lively way and has interviewed scads of the punks who were tortured and went to prison for their ideas and outfits.
I learned so much about East Germany from this book. My heart went out to the youths with "too much future": facing a life where their jobs (and it was illegal to be unemployed), educational level, where they lived, and what they wore was controlled by the state.
glendareads39's review against another edition
5.0
This book takes a look at how The East Berlin punk rock movement led a revolution against the politics of Germany and how their social movement led to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
kimscozyreads's review against another edition
5.0
Best nonfiction read this year.
I am biased as a punk fan myself- some of the most fun Ive ever had has been at ska shows with like, less than a hundred people there. But man, I can not imagine getting thrown in jail for my blue hair and band buttons.
This was such a compelling narrative threaded through with thorough explanations of how the East German government society and the Stazi functioned... which is very important for a Western reader like myself.
The author also made it very clear that these revolutionaries were against authoritarianism, not against socialism.
They wanted nothing to do with Western capitalism either.
I'm used to hearing an account much more in favor of a pro-capitalist viewpoint.
The pictures included were a nice touch, too.
If y'all are interested, I found a playlist on spotify called Too Much Future that features recording from many of the bands in the book.
So in short, everyone should read this. If you already appreciate punk, it's amazing, and if you don't, you will learn even more. Punk is political, and it's so much more than the songs themselves.
I am biased as a punk fan myself- some of the most fun Ive ever had has been at ska shows with like, less than a hundred people there. But man, I can not imagine getting thrown in jail for my blue hair and band buttons.
This was such a compelling narrative threaded through with thorough explanations of how the East German government society and the Stazi functioned... which is very important for a Western reader like myself.
The author also made it very clear that these revolutionaries were against authoritarianism, not against socialism.
They wanted nothing to do with Western capitalism either.
I'm used to hearing an account much more in favor of a pro-capitalist viewpoint.
The pictures included were a nice touch, too.
If y'all are interested, I found a playlist on spotify called Too Much Future that features recording from many of the bands in the book.
So in short, everyone should read this. If you already appreciate punk, it's amazing, and if you don't, you will learn even more. Punk is political, and it's so much more than the songs themselves.