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"Eloquent, aware and scrupulous . . . a rich and instructive examination of the Cold War past." --The New York Times
In 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 contained a meticulous record of Garton Ash's earlier life in Berlin.
In this memoir, Garton Ash describes what it was like to rediscover his younger self through the eyes of the Stasi, and then to go on to confront those who actually informed against him to the secret police. Moving from document to remembrance, from the offices of British intelligence to the living rooms of retired Stasi officers, The File is a personal narrative as gripping, as disquieting, and as morally provocative as any fiction by George Orwell or Graham Greene. And it is all true.
"In this painstaking, powerful unmasking of evil, the wretched face of tyranny is revealed." --Philadelphia Inquirer
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Todd Chidester
reviewed The File: A Personal History on January 23, 2011 The File: A Personal History
A terrific read for anyone who likes history, especially that of the Cold War, and does not mind a different sort of narration of it.
In this book, Garton Ash examines the file that the Stasi built on him between 1978 and 1989, which he was able to access after the fall of East Germany. I loved this book, because it is not only a (very good) history book, but it's also a reflection about memory and about human nature.
The author meets most of the people who either informed the Stasi on him during his stay in Germany, as well as the people who worked on his file, and reports how the meetings go. He also tells us about his life in Berlin in the late 70's, and what happened when he left. He does all this while sharing acute observations of how people look, talk and think while he is with them, as well as his reflections on the possible motives that brought them to inform on him.
I very much appreciated this unusual take on history, and the humanity with which Garton Ash observed and did not just blindly condemn, but tried to understand the deeds of the people around him. Recommended!
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Add The File: A Personal History, Eloquent, aware and scrupulous . . . a rich and instructive examination of the Cold War past. --The New York Times In 1978 a romantic young Englishman took up residence in Berlin to see what that divided city could teach him about tyranny and freedom, The File: A Personal History to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
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Add The File: A Personal History, Eloquent, aware and scrupulous . . . a rich and instructive examination of the Cold War past. --The New York Times In 1978 a romantic young Englishman took up residence in Berlin to see what that divided city could teach him about tyranny and freedom, The File: A Personal History to your collection on WonderClub |