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sammeshchaninov's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Bought this book while in Germany to learn more about the Cold War. I would note that the first half of the book recounts many parts of Berlin’s history prior to August 13, 1961 when the wall was first established.
Taylor does a great job of explaining the parallels in German history and explains the historical moments with thoughtful clarity. For such a dense book I read it very quickly and would recommend to someone wanting to learn more about the topic.
Taylor does a great job of explaining the parallels in German history and explains the historical moments with thoughtful clarity. For such a dense book I read it very quickly and would recommend to someone wanting to learn more about the topic.
pcaron_de's review against another edition
5.0
Though more than 13 years old, this book is a thorough and reasonably objective history of Berlin and its walls (yes, plural). It offers a detailed and intimate view of the bankrupt SED policy but also the self-serving and often disingenuous real politic of western leaders especially in the time leading up to and just after 1961.
An enjoyable reader thought provoking read.
An enjoyable reader thought provoking read.
exhuman's review against another edition
Not a bad book but not exactly what I wanted on this topic. It is mainly focusing on the political side of this era.
Abandoned around 50%
Abandoned around 50%
grifen87's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first actual book about the Wall after having had peripheral exposure to the topic through school, film, etc. As an introduction I thought it was well researched, insightful, sympathetic to the victims, and generally respectful of the parties involved. I must admit that it did seem to drag on and had numerous editorial mistakes, but overall it was well worth the read.
blevins's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of disappointing non-fiction, exhaustive [and rather exhausting!] history of the Berlin Wall. I got this wanting to read about escapes and desperate people trying to get across the barbed wire and later the wall--there was some of that, but not nearly enough. Taylor is way more concerned about discussing every possible facet of whatever government involved in the wall's creation [West Germany, East Germany, Soviet Union, United States] than covering the "fun" stuff. If there was a politician or group connected to the wall--Taylor covered it. Only one measly chapter was devoted to the escapes, although they popped up enough in the other chapters to tease and tantalize me to keep reading. What could have had a lot more tension was actually rather dull. What a shame. Three stars just because the Berlin Wall is such a fascinating historical event in the recent past and there was enough escape stuff to keep me going for 400+ pages.
maisieden's review against another edition
3.0
At some points it was really interesting, especially near the start it gave a lot of information about how Germany began, but some of it was quite dull/textbook-like and seemed to just give facts with little analysis. It was very accessible in terms of style and would benefit someone with little knowledge of modern German history. However, as I have studied the GDR at A level a large portion of the book did not give me much new information. It did go into some areas of the period that I haven't studied in detail, relating to West Germany and international relations at the time, but some of these areas were quite dry and uninteresting to me (particularly the details about Kennedy's reaction to the wall and Lyndon Johnson's visit to West Berlin). In contrast, I really appreciated the insight it gave into Germany as a whole both 15 and 30 years on (as I have the updated 2019 version).
smtwright's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent history in 20th century Berlin politics and happenings. It gives a detailed look at how the Wall was built and how it came down.
kentcryptid's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant - a fascinating read, and situates the Wall in its historical context well.