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Beyond the Wall
- A History of East Germany
- Narrated by: Sam Peter Jackson
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
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Publisher's summary
AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the ashes of the Second World War to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the definitive history of East Germany, "a fascinating, sparkling book, filled with insights" (Peter Frankopan)
In 1990, a country disappeared. When the Iron Curtain fell, East Germany ceased to be. For over forty years, from the ruin of the Second World War to the cusp of a new millennium, the German Democratic Republic presented a radically different Germany than what had come before and what exists today. Socialist solidarity, secret police, central planning, barbed wire: this was a Germany forged on the fault lines of ideology and geopolitics.
In Beyond the Wall, acclaimed historian Katja Hoyer sets aside the usual Cold War caricatures of the GDR to offer a kaleidoscopic new vision of this vanished country, revealing the rich political, social, and cultural landscape that existed amid oppression and hardship. Drawing on a vast array of never-before-seen interviews and documents, this is the definitive history of the other Germany, beyond the Wall.
Critic reviews
“Myth-busting, artfully constructed history. Hoyer displays a special understanding and wants to present a corrective to previous reductive assessments of the GDR that depict it as a field-gray Stasiland. Her command of detail, broad historical brush strokes, and evident sympathy for her interview partners make for a fascinating read.” —Roger Boyes, Times (London)
“Forget everything you thought you knew about life in the GDR. This terrifically colorful, surprising, and enjoyable history of the socialist state is full of surprises. Enormously refreshing.” —Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
"What makes this meticulous book essential reading is not so much its sense of what East Germans lost but of what we never had. A history of the GDR that adds stability, contentment, and women’s rights to the familiar picture of authoritarianism.” —Stuart Jeffries, Guardian
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Marcus Aurelius - Meditations: Adapted for the Contemporary Reader
- By: Marcus Aurelius, James Harris
- Narrated by: Gregory Allen Siders
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. These books have been carefully adapted into modern English form to allow for easy listening. Enjoy!
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Best translation
- By Anonymous User on 06-13-19
By: Marcus Aurelius, and others
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Letters from Guantánamo
- By: Mansoor Adayfi, Antonio Aiello
- Narrated by: Mansoor Adayfi, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Elias Khalil, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Original Recording
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In weeks after the September 11 attacks, 18-year-old Mansoor Adayfi was kidnapped by Afghan militia and sold to US forces for bounty money. After months of interrogations, he was sent to the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as one of its first prisoners. Like the nearly 800 other men imprisoned at Guantanamo, Adayfi didn’t know why he was imprisoned or for how long. He had never seen a skyscraper and couldn’t imagine what the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center looked like, much less how they were destroyed.
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tragic yet inspirational
- By Phil on 05-20-24
By: Mansoor Adayfi, and others
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The Complete Book of Five Rings
- By: Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu - editor/translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.
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Best translation I have encountered.
- By DW on 05-27-16
By: Miyamoto Musashi, and others
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The Mastery of Self
- A Toltec Guide to Personal Freedom
- By: Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.
- Narrated by: Charlie Varon
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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The ancient Toltecs believed that life, as we perceive it, is a dream. We each live in our own personal dream, and these come together to form the dream of the planet, or the world in which we live. Problems arise when our perception of the dream becomes clouded with negativity, drama, and judgment (of ourselves and others), because it's in these moments of suffering that we have forgotten that we are the architects of our own reality and we have the power to change our dream if we choose.
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listen.. .then listen again
- By Casiano on 12-22-16
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I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t)
- Telling the Truth about Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power
- By: Brené Brown
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on seven years of ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we're all in this together.
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I'm sure its great if you are a mother ....
- By Leslie A Hill on 08-09-11
By: Brené Brown
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The Prophet
- By: Kahlil Gibran
- Narrated by: Riz Ahmed
- Length: 1 hr and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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On the face of it, a simple book of 26 poem fables sharing one man’s wisdom. But The Prophet is so much more than that. It has inspired people from John F Kennedy to The Beatles and became the '60s Bible of counterculture – all because of the timeless truths it shared. Each poem takes a different theme – pleasure, beauty, freedom, joy and sorrow – as the fictional Al Mustapha shares his thoughts and experiences as he prepares to travel back to his island home.
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Riz Ahmed's Narraration Is So Moving!
- By Dee Tree on 09-12-21
By: Kahlil Gibran
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Eight Dates
- Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
- By: John Gottman PhD, Julie Schwartz Gottman PhD, Doug Abrams, and others
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin, Julie McKay
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Navigating the challenges of long-term commitment takes effort - and it just got simpler, with this empowering, step-by-step guide to communicating about the things that matter most to you and your partner. Drawing on 40 years of research from their world-famous Love Lab, Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman invite couples on eight fun, easy, and profoundly rewarding dates, each one focused on a make-or-break issue: trust, conflict, sex, money, family, adventure, spirituality, and dreams.
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What the F. Robot-reader???!?!?!
- By Anonymous User on 01-21-20
By: John Gottman PhD, and others
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
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Audible Masterpiece
- By Phoenician on 09-10-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
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Caffeine
- How Caffeine Created the Modern World
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
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Michael Pollan, known for his best-selling nonfiction audio, including The Omnivores Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, conceived and wrote Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World as an Audible Original. In this controversial and exciting listen, Pollan explores caffeine’s power as the most-used drug in the world - and the only one we give to children (in soda pop) as a treat.
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Leaves much to be desired
- By Melody H on 02-02-20
By: Michael Pollan
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The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean
- By: M. Doreal
- Narrated by: John Marino
- Length: 2 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The history of the tablets translated in the following book is strange and beyond the belief of modern scientists. Their antiquity is stupendous, dating back some 36,000 years. The writer is Thoth, an Atlantean Priest-King, who founded a colony in ancient Egypt after the sinking of the mother country. He was the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, erroneously attributed to Cheops. In it he incorporated his knowledge of the ancient wisdom and also securely secreted records and instruments of ancient Atlantis.
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Excellence...
- By Light Worker on 04-21-18
By: M. Doreal
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The Ethical Slut
- A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships, & Other Adventures
- By: Janet W. Hardy, Dossie Easton
- Narrated by: Janet W. Hardy, Dossie Easton
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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For anyone who has ever dreamed of love, sex, and companionship beyond the limits of traditional monogamy, this groundbreaking guide navigates the infinite possibilities that open relationships can offer. Experienced ethical sluts Dossie Easton and Janet W. Hardy dispel myths and cover all the skills necessary to maintain a successful and responsible polyamorous lifestyle.
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The information and advice is 100% totally solid!
- By Troy on 07-28-15
By: Janet W. Hardy, and others
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Buddhism for Beginners
- By: Thubten Chodron, His Holiness the Dalai Lama - foreword
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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This user’s guide to Buddhist basics takes the most commonly asked questions - beginning with “What is the essence of the Buddha’s teachings?” - and provides simple answers in plain English. Thubten Chodron’s responses to the questions that always seem to arise among people approaching Buddhism make this an exceptionally complete and accessible introduction - as well as a manual for living a more peaceful, mindful, and satisfying Life.
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Amazing introduction to Buddhism
- By chad d on 07-02-15
By: Thubten Chodron, and others
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The Philosopher's Toolkit: How to Be the Most Rational Person in Any Room
- By: Patrick Grim, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Patrick Grim
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
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Taught by award-winning Professor Patrick Grim of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, The Philosopher’s Toolkit: How to Be the Most Rational Person in Any Room arms you against the perils of bad thinking and supplies you with an arsenal of strategies to help you be more creative, logical, inventive, realistic, and rational in all aspects of your daily life.
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This should NOT be an audio book
- By Brooks Emerson on 03-21-20
By: Patrick Grim, and others
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The great Austrian writer Stefan Zweig confided in his autobiography: “I have a pretty thorough knowledge of history, but never, to my recollection, has it produced such madness in such gigantic proportions.” He was referring to Germany in 1923, a “year of lunacy,” defined by hyperinflation, violence, a political system on the verge of collapse, the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and separatist movements threatening to rip apart the German nation. Bestselling author Volker Ullrich presents a riveting chronicle of one of the most difficult years any modern democracy has ever faced.
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How does a nation recover from fascism and turn toward a free society once more? This internationally acclaimed revelatory history of the transformational decade that followed World War II illustrates how Germany raised itself out of the ashes of defeat and reckoned with the corruption of its soul and the horrors of the Holocaust - and features over 40 eye-opening black-and-white photographs and posters from the period.
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Where are the photos?
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Established in 1918–19, in the wake of Germany’s catastrophic defeat in the First World War and the revolution that followed swiftly on its heels, the Weimar Republic ushered in widespread social reform, a radical cultural flowering and the most democratic conditions the German people had ever known. The Weimar Years is a vivid narrative of a dramatic period in German history. Year by year, from 1918 to 1933, Frank McDonough covers the major events in both domestic and foreign policy and the personalities who shaped them, together with developments in music, art, theatre and literature.
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Iron Curtain
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At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union to its surprise and delight found itself in control of a huge swath of territory in Eastern Europe. Stalin and his secret police set out to convert a dozen radically different countries to Communism, a completely new political and moral system. In Iron Curtain, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anne Applebaum describes how the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe were created and what daily life was like once they were complete.
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Important story, imperfectly executed
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Revolutionary Spring
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As history, the uprisings of 1848 have long been overshadowed by the French Revolution of 1789 and the Russian revolutions of the early twentieth century. And yet in 1848 nearly all of Europe was aflame with conflict. Parallel political tumults spread like brush fire across the entire continent, leading to significant changes that continue to shape our world today. These battles for the future were fought with one eye kept squarely on the past. Revolutionary Spring is a new understanding of 1848 that offers chilling parallels to our present moment.
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Like the revolutions, it got off to a good start
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Among the conflicts that convulsed Europe during the nineteenth century, none was more startling and consequential than the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Deliberately engineered by Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the war succeeded in shattering French supremacy, deposing Napoleon III, and uniting a new German Empire. But it also produced brutal military innovations and a precarious new imbalance of power that together set the stage for the devastating world wars of the next century. In Bismarck’s War, historian Rachel Chrastil chronicles events on the battlefield in full.
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It's rare I don't finish a book...
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Berlin
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Sinclair McKay's portrait of Berlin from 1919 forward explores the city's broad human history, from the end of the Great War to the Blockade, rise of the Wall, and beyond. Sinclair McKay's Berlin begins by taking listeners back to 1919, when the city emerged from the shadows of the Great War to become an extraordinary by-word for modernity—in art, cinema, architecture, industry, science, and politics. He traces the city’s history through the rise of Hitler and the Battle for Berlin, which ended in the final conquest of the city in 1945.
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Very I informative
- By Anonymous User on 09-14-22
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Goodbye DDR
- By: Guido Knopp
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- Unabridged
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Abschied vom Klischee - vier Jahrzehnte DDR. Guido Knopp zeigt in seinem Hörbuch ein differenziertes Bild der 40-jährigen DDR-Geschichte. "Ostalgie" ist dabei Fehlanzeige. Anhand von exponierten und bisher unbekannten DDR-Lebensläufen werden die Widersprüche einer Gesellschaft sichtbar, in der starke Solidarität neben Stasiterror, Einordnung neben Widerstand, Alltagspragmatismus neben bitter enttäuschtem Idealismus stehen.
By: Guido Knopp
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Sovietistan
- Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan
- By: Erika Fatland
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Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan became free of the Soviet Union in 1991. But though they are new to modern statehood, this is a region rich in ancient history, culture, and landscapes unlike anywhere else in the world. Traveling alone, Erika Fatland is a true adventurer in every sense. In Sovietistan, she takes the listener on a compassionate and insightful journey to explore how their Soviet heritage has influenced these countries, with governments experimenting with both democracy and dictatorships.
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Outstanding book
- By George MP on 04-24-22
By: Erika Fatland
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Out of the Darkness
- The Germans, 1942-2022
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- Narrated by: Patty Nieman
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In 1945, Germany lay in ruins, morally and materially. Its citizens stood condemned by history, responsible for a horrifying genocide and war of extermination. But by the end of Angela Merkel’s tenure in 2021, Germany looked like the moral voice of Europe. How did a nation whose past has been marked by mass murder reinvent themselves, and how much? Trentmann tells this dramatic story of the German people from the middle of the Second World War through the Cold War and the division of East and West to the fall of the Berlin Wall and their struggle to find their place in the world today.
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A very long book
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What listeners say about Beyond the Wall
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tim Rands
- 11-23-23
Opening Our Eyes to DDR
Wonderful. An open and deep discourse into the DDR, what it meant to live there, and the political and economic struggles. As someone who grew up in Western Europe of the 60s, 70s and 80s this book stands as a stark contrast to the simplified presentation our media provided us of real life behind the Wall. Thank you to Katja Hoyer for opening my eyes.
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- JRT
- 01-09-24
Outstanding
The narrative is very well told, and the history is fair-minded, well-researched, and clear-sighted. The author uses the experience of ordinary people as an entry point into the history of the GDR, which gives the history a real sense of time and place. The audiobook narrator does an excellent job as well.
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- Jane
- 11-05-23
Well written and accurate
Shortly after the wall fell, we lived in Bayreuth, Germany for a year. That city is located less than 40 miles from the former border city of Hof. This book correctly reflected what we experienced during that time. We watched the euphoria of the first few months when former east Germans drove the 40 miles to Bayreuth to buy bananas and electronics with the “welcome money” they had received. Within 6 months though, that euphoria had faded and the complex problems of reuniting two countries back into one became obvious. Former east Germans were initially welcomed, but then resented by west Germans for things like expecting subsidized daycare for working mothers. I also remember many stories about west German businesses scooping up east German businesses for pennies. A few years after the reunification I asked a former west German how long it would take for the country to feel united again. He said decades. That has proved to be true.
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- Z'
- 03-09-24
Good summary of ordinary life in the DDR
The story does a good job of the founding of the DDR and the people behind it. Once the country is formed it then mostly shifts to talking about daily life in the country. It does go into a lot of detail about how people lived and how the majority of them were mostly happy, almost to a fault. It’s probably true that most people didn’t have any trouble with the Stasi, but outside of taking about the founding of the organization and occasionally mentioning it, you’d barely know what they did and the kind of brutal methods they used. They mention how the DDR had mass emigration problems but barely talk about why.
The fall of the DDR also barely gets any detail. According to the book everyone was happy (even though emigration was still a priority for many people) but just one day they decided to rise up against the state with barely any detail of why the people were so unhappy and starting to revolt. They don’t even talk about the fall of the Berlin Wall, just a few stories of people who walked across the border when it opened. No mention of Honecker being tried for his crimes afterwards and how he had to escape the country.
Some people might think that it has too much of a positive bias, but again, this book is about the people who lived there and what they experienced and for the most part they just lived their lives the best they could without getting involved in politics or caring about the rest of the world. So, for better or for worse, that’s what you’re getting. There are a couple stories of people who were harassed by the Stasi, but even those examples were people who got off light. Perhaps some stories of people who were targeted by the state and suffered under the regime would have given some different and welcome perspectives.
The book is fantastic with plenty of details of how people lived in the DDR and these are stories worth remembering. Just be aware that if you’re looking more for a macro view of the country’s history and fall, you may be disappointed.
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- kilroywashere
- 01-06-24
Great work on an overlooked subject.
I found this book to be insightful and entertaining. A great history of the DDR.
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- Thorsten Kramer
- 04-24-24
Very well researched and written
It was very in-depth and tried to be balanced to represent different viewpoints. It was interesting and an easy listen
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- Marina
- 09-27-23
Astute and balanced
I’m very surprised by the two negative reviews that have been posted here to date.
As someone who has traveled to both sides of the wall (before and after), has German friends and knows more about German and postwar history than most in the US, I find Hoyer’s book to be excellent.
Far from propaganda for any side, it respectfully and objectively gives voice to those who experienced life in the GDR. Listen for yourself.
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- Marcelo Jizarco
- 03-18-24
A great study of the real GDR
Finally, a book about the German Democratic Republic free of Western prejudice. Honest, well researched and with a nice human touch that includes interviews to former GDR citizens and a nice balance of what was wrong and what was right on the Germany beyond the wall.
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- Kindle Customer
- 12-13-23
so many surprising facts
Much of my early adult life was shaped by military service in the former West Germany.
I shared the common sense that East Germany was the gray step-sister to vibrant W. Germany -- and this book lifted the curtain to understand the E. German perspective on myriad elements -- role of women, politics, jobs, educational opportunities,
military service, -- and the men who manned the frightening guard towers.
the author includes much about politics , appropriately , as that is the only way to grasp
how the DDR developed so differently from the FRG.
the narrator was excellent; it took a little while to attune my ears to his accent -- but worth it: kind if an immersive experience.
another reviewer objected to the author's positive spin but it is perhaps more accurate to describe it as an inside picture rather than a critique, and i appreciated it for that reason.
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-29-23
Great history
I visited west germany as a college-and again as a post-graduate -student in the 1980s and was fascinated by the modern history of the two germanys. A brief foray into east berlin demonstrated many obvious if superficial differences.
This history of how the differences evolved, with an emphasis on the fact the east germans saw their own system as “normal”, is so valuable. The complicated politics of each system, and the story of how reunification gradually occurred — just fascinating
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