The File: A Personal History
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.62 (675 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0679777857 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 272 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-03-02 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Eloquent, aware and scrupulous a rich and instructive examination of the Cold War past." --The New York TimesIn 1978 a romantic young Englishman took up residence in Berlin to see what that divided city could teach him about tyranny and freedom. Fifteen years later Timothy Garton Ash--who was by then famous for his reportage of the downfall of communism in Central Europe--returned. This time he had come to look at a file that bore the code-name "Romeo." The file had been compiled by the Stasi, the East German secret police, with the assistance of dozens of informers. And it is all true."In this painstaking, powerful unmasking of evil, the wretched face of tyranny is revealed." --Philadelphia Inqui
Excellent Book about a sensitive subject. I came across this book by accident just searching for books about East Germany on Amazon.com. On a personal note, I myself immigrated from the USA to the DDR (Home of my fathers family) in 1982 and lived there until 1987 when I was expelled for polit. interesting Memoir R. Albin This well written book describes the author's encounter with the Stasi, the East German Secret Police. In the late 70s, Garton Ash worked, and for a short period of time, lived in East Berlin. Not surprisingly, he was under surveillance by the Stasi. . "Rich and Educational" according to Aaron. I was pleasantly surprised by this unique little book.It is, first, well-written for a work of nonfiction, with a clear, functional narrative that doesn't get in the way of things (and manages to be poignant, witty, or insightful at all the right time
As if to return the favor, that culture--in the form of the dreaded East German secret police, the "Stasi"--secretly began studying him. When Timothy Garton Ash graduated from Oxford in 1978, he went to live in Berlin, ostensibly to research and write about Nazism. But once there, he gradually immersed himself in a study of the repressive political culture of East Germany. After the fall of the East German communist regime, a government apparatus was established to allow those targeted to see their Stasi files, and Garton Ash discovered and pored over his. . The result is nothing short of a journey into the darkest recesses of the totalitarian mind, taking its place honorably alongside