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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
This was an interesting but very niche read. It's a memoir about Garton Ash's experience of reading his Stasi file. He reads the records the Stasi kept on him, compares them to his own diaries from the same time and tracks down the people who spied on him. I felt it sometimes got a little bogged down in the details of his daily life in Berlin in the 1980s, even as someone fascinated by that period of history. However mainly it held my attention and I particularly enjoyed his interviews with the informants.
ipanzica's review against another edition
5.0
A smart book about a man looking into a spy file made about him during the Cold War. While searching out and talking to the people who informed about him to the Stasi he tackles the question why do people do bad things.
Since some of the people who informed on others during the Cold War informed about their friends, family, and partners. Many informers felt shame and tried to distance themselves from what they did, other informers blamed others or their circumstances.
It’s a deep and well written book that show the psychological damage and distrust the Cold War caused people. Giving people access to their files allowed for people to learn about betrayals but also heal relationships damaged by suspicion and distrust. It makes you wonder if you had the same choice, would you read a file detailing the people close to you who lied and informed about you to a government that could of imprisoned or killed you?
Since some of the people who informed on others during the Cold War informed about their friends, family, and partners. Many informers felt shame and tried to distance themselves from what they did, other informers blamed others or their circumstances.
It’s a deep and well written book that show the psychological damage and distrust the Cold War caused people. Giving people access to their files allowed for people to learn about betrayals but also heal relationships damaged by suspicion and distrust. It makes you wonder if you had the same choice, would you read a file detailing the people close to you who lied and informed about you to a government that could of imprisoned or killed you?
tnt307's review against another edition
2.0
Obdobi studene valky me zajima, zvlaste potom Berlinska oblast, ale tahle knizka mi prisla celkem zbytecna.
Prvni polovina byla jeste celkem zajimava, ale potom autor zabredne do filozofickych a moralnich temat a kniha se stava pomalu necitelnou...
Prvni polovina byla jeste celkem zajimava, ale potom autor zabredne do filozofickych a moralnich temat a kniha se stava pomalu necitelnou...
marie_gg's review against another edition
2.0
Well, I made it to page 87, not quite halfway through, and decided to stop. I found myself wanting to be done with the book, which is never a good sign. I have too many books on my "to read" list to waste time on a book I'm not enjoying or finding interesting at least.
The book's premise was interesting: an English journalist and researcher who spent time in East and West Germany and Poland gets hold of his Stasi file after the Berlin Wall comes down. He compares the file to his own personal diary and seeks out those who informed on him. I had hopes for this book, and at first I settled in, thinking I would learn a great deal about East Germany and the Stasi.
But as I was wading through the plodding details of way too many people and not enough background, I felt that I was reading a recitation of facts. It didn't keep my interest well enough to want to read on.
If I compare this book to others I've read about China or the Cultural Revolution, or other nonfiction about other countries, the writing pales in comparison. It seems to be an academic recitation of facts, without any insights. It wasn't horrible, but it just wasn't good enough to keep my interest.
Onto more interesting books!
The book's premise was interesting: an English journalist and researcher who spent time in East and West Germany and Poland gets hold of his Stasi file after the Berlin Wall comes down. He compares the file to his own personal diary and seeks out those who informed on him. I had hopes for this book, and at first I settled in, thinking I would learn a great deal about East Germany and the Stasi.
But as I was wading through the plodding details of way too many people and not enough background, I felt that I was reading a recitation of facts. It didn't keep my interest well enough to want to read on.
If I compare this book to others I've read about China or the Cultural Revolution, or other nonfiction about other countries, the writing pales in comparison. It seems to be an academic recitation of facts, without any insights. It wasn't horrible, but it just wasn't good enough to keep my interest.
Onto more interesting books!
emilybryk's review against another edition
1.0
The problem is this: TGA spends the first third of the book basically saying "and yet, I wasn't doing anything interesting, so I don't really know why the Stasi were that interested in me." And he's right. The actual memoir part of the book is, at its core, just sort of a British grad student having drinks with people.
katemc's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
A fascinating look/back at a crucial moment in history, from the perspective of a chronicling outsider. History is such an interesting discipline for all the approaches one can take to it. This approach of history through researched memoir/oral history is particularly compelling.