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| Title | : | The Year That Changed The World: The Untold Story Behind the Fall of the Berlin Wall |
| Author | : | Michael R. Meyer |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition (U.S.) |
| Pages | : | Pages: 255 pages |
| Published | : | September 8th 2009 by Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. Politics. Cultural. Germany. European History. Literature. 20th Century. Poland |
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On the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Michael Meyer provides a riveting eyewitness account of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe that brilliantly rewrites our conventional understanding of how the Cold War came to an end and holds important lessons for America's current geopolitical challenges." Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" President Ronald Reagan's famous exhortation when visiting Berlin in 1987 has long been widely cited as the clarion call that brought the Cold War to an end. The United States won, so this version of history goes, because Ronald Reagan stood firm against the USSR; American resoluteness brought the evil empire to its knees.
Michael Meyer, who was there at the time as a Newsweek bureau chief, begs to differ.
In this extraordinarily compelling account of the revolutions that roiled Eastern Europe in 1989, he shows that American intransigence was only one of many factors that provoked world-shaking change. Meyer draws together breathtakingly vivid, on-the-ground accounts of the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland, the stealth opening of the Hungarian border, the Velvet Revolution in Prague and the collapse of the infamous wall in Berlin. But the most important events, Meyer contends, occurred secretly, in the heroic stands taken by individuals in the thick of the struggle, leaders such as poet and playwright Vaclav Havel in Prague; the Baltic shipwright Lech Walesa; the quietly determined reform prime minister in Budapest, Miklos Nemeth; and the man who privately realized that his empire was already lost, and decided -- with courage and intelligence -- to let it go in peace,Soviet general secretary of the communist party, Mikhail Gorbachev.
Reporting for Newsweek from the frontlines in Eastern Europe, Meyer spoke to these players and countless others. Alongside their deliberate interventions were also the happenstance and human error of history that are always present when events accelerate to breakneck speed. Meyer captures these heady days in all of their rich drama and unpredictability. In doing so he provides not just a thrilling chronicle of the most important year of the twentieth century but also a crucial refutation of American political mythology and a triumphal misunderstanding of history that seduced the United States into many of the intractable conflicts it faces today. The Year That Changed the World will change not only how we see the past, but also our understanding of America's future.
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| Original Title: | The Year That Changed The World: The Untold Story Behind the Fall of the Berlin Wall |
| ISBN: | 1416558454 (ISBN13: 9781416558453) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Regarding Books The Year That Changed The World: The Untold Story Behind the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Ratings: 4.18 From 429 Users | 84 ReviewsCommentary Regarding Books The Year That Changed The World: The Untold Story Behind the Fall of the Berlin Wall
A great book that will change your perspective on the fall of the iron curtain. Very readable.A compelling, first-hand recount of the events that brought upon the fall of the Berlin Wall and of comunism in Eastern Europe. I believe the book works as a reality check on who were the key players in this very confusing time. It also does a great job at arguing that the misconception of how things unfolded in 1989 mis-shaped the USA's foreign policy for the years to come.
This is a fantastic book, offering a lot of interesting details and analysis of what led up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain. It really provides a needed balance to the common American perspective, which is highly reductionist, of what precipitated these events (and America's role in it all). My two big complaints, which still don't cause me to lower my rating, is that there is absolutely no discussion of Pope John Paul II's role in the fall of Communism. This, to me, is
This is a great book on the events of 1989. I was in 8th grade at the time so it was good to understand these events from a more adult perspective. Some parts of the story, like the secret coordination between parts of the Hungarian government and West Germany were kept hidden so wouldn't have been covered even at the time. Meyer was on the ground covering these events and his enthusiam and personal experiences shine through. The book is not written as an academic, impersonal way. Meyer clearly
I grew up thinking that it was Americas unassailable military and economic might that brought end to communism. This book dispelled my theory. Mr. Meyer has beautifully penned down the events and movers and shakers that brought Berlin wall down and spelled the end of communism in east Europe. The wall came down because of widespread anger and frustration and sense of having had enough. The change was triggered due to some new leaders from communist camp who understood the inherent defects in
Excellent overview of events that led to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989. Meyer's position is that the US had almost nothing to do with these events. Instead he focuses on Gorbachev's reforms and his repudiation of the Brezhnev Doctrine--the USSR would no longer intervene in the bloc's affairs. He also highlights the Hungarian vanguard, young Turks within the Communist party who carefully and secretly engineered the destruction of communism not only in their own country but
A good book on the fall of the Eastern bloc states by a journalist who lived through it; which ads a personal touch you dont often see such as the author touring the bedroom of Ceausescu finds a report on an analysis of the assassination of Sadat and hes not sure if it is legitimate or planted for him to see after Ceausecus death on Christmas Day.Book is harmed by the author trying to draw parallels to the Iraq War and present times.
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