The Berlin Wall : a world divided, 1961-1989 Cover Image

Book

The Berlin Wall : a world divided, 1961-1989 / Frederick Taylor.

Taylor, Fred, 1947- (Author).

Summary:

One morning in 1961, the residents of East Berlin found themselves cut off from family, friends and jobs in the West by a tangle of barbed wire that ruthlessly cut a city of four million in two. Within days the barbed wire became a 103-mile-long wall guarded by three hundred watchtowers. A physical manifestation of the Cold War that would stand for nearly thirty years, the Berlin Wall was the fault line between East and West on which rested the fate of all humanity. Historian Taylor weaves together official history, archival materials and personal accounts to tell the complete story of the Wall's rise and fall, from the postwar political tensions that created a divided Berlin to the internal and external pressures that led to the Wall's demise. He also explores the geopolitical ramifications, as well as the impact the Wall had on ordinary lives, still felt today.--From publisher description.

Record details

ISBN: 9780060786137
ISBN: 0060786132
ISBN: 0060786140
ISBN: 9780060786144
Physical Description: xxi, 486 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cm
Edition: 1st U.S. ed.
Publisher: New York : HarperCollins, ©2006.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 469-472) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Sand. Marsh town ; Reds ; "It must look democratic, but we must have everything in our hands" ; Blockade -- Blood. "Dissolve the people and elect another" ; The crown princes ; Wag the dog ; Operation "Rose" -- Wire. Barbed-wire Sunday ; Prisoners -- "That bastard from Berlin" -- Cement. Wall games ; High noon in the Friedrichstrasse ; Break-outs ; "Ich bin ein Berliner" -- Money. The surreal cage ; Endgame ; The wall came tumbling down -- Afterword : the theft of hope.