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Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Dry political history Obviously you can't write a book about the Berlin Wall or the Second World War without including a lot of politics. I was expecting that. But this book goes to extremes. It is top-heavy history. Taylor is too concerned with the statesmen, the politicians, the generals, the ministers, etc., and their speeches, decisions and policies. Very little of this book is given over to the little people and their inconsequential -- but fascinating -- lives and experiences. I would certainly have liked more of this... more info
A great, fast - paced read. I am unsure what the people who didn't enjoy this were actaully looking for. It is true that the Wall is not built until half way through the book but what went before is perhaps as important as the wall itself. Whenever a history of an event or time period is written it is vital that the reader understands exactly why the event happened or where that period fits into the narrative of its history.
As for the end being rushed, I entirely disagree. It is fast, short and breathless. I think this is... more info
Rivetting in the main, spoilt by a rushed ending This book could best be described as schizophrenic. It starts off with a detailed history of Germany going back to the time of the Vikings, and explains the post-war geography of Europe in vivid detail; the Berlin Wall isn't even built until about the half-way stage. Once the wall is built, however, the book feels like it was rushed and over-simplified. There is plenty of description of the many attempts to breakout of East Germany to West Berlin but there is insufficient detail as to why East Germany... more info
good subject, poor book While the subject is fascinating, I found this poorly written, with unnecessary repetition and the author jumping around all over the place - quite how the detailed description of the GDR leaders' houses fitted into the rest of the chapter is still unclear to me. There also seemed to be an anti-GDR/Soviet bias - it is not made as clear as it should have been exactly why the Soviets cut off the Western part of Berlin and harassed the US and British in the first place. And as a previous reviwer wrote, the... more info
