A review by blevins
The Berlin Wall: A World Divided, 1961-1989 by Frederick Taylor

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.