The Year That Changed the World

The Untold Story Behind the Fall of the Berlin Wall

De: Michael Meyer

Narrado por: Ed Sala

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" President Ronald Reagan's famous exhortation when visiting Berlin in 1987 has long been widely cited as the clarion call that brought the Cold War to an end. The United States won, so this version of history goes, because Ronald Reagan stood firm against the USSR; American resoluteness brought the evil empire to its knees. Michael Meyer, who was there at the time as a Newsweek bureau chief, begs to differ.

In this extraordinarily compelling account of the revolutions that roiled Eastern Europe in 1989, Meyer shows that American intransigence was only one of many factors that provoked world-shaking change. He draws together breathtakingly vivid, on-the-ground accounts of the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland, the stealth opening of the Hungarian border, the Velvet Revolution in Prague, and the collapse of the infamous wall in Berlin. But the most important events, Meyer contends, occurred secretly, in the heroic stands taken by individuals in the thick of the struggle - leaders such as poet and playwright Vaclav Havel in Prague; the Baltic shipwright Lech Walesa; the quietly determined reform prime minister in Budapest, Miklos Nemeth; and the man who privately realized that his empire was already lost and decided, with courage and intelligence, to let it go in peace, Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet general secretary of the Communist party. Reporting for Newsweek from the frontlines in Eastern Europe, Meyer spoke to these players and countless others. Alongside their deliberate interventions were also the happenstance and human error of history that are always present when events accelerate to breakneck speed.

©2009 Michael Meyer (P)2009 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A coolheaded reconsideration of the revolutionary fervor that tore down the Iron Curtain in 1989.... Meyer 'liberates' the record with sagacity, precision, and remarkable clarity." (Kirkus)

A Challenge to Conventional US Perception

Michael Meyer tells the story of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 from the European point of view. In the process, he challenges the conventional explanations for that occurance typically repeated in the States. The reader may not be comfortable with this perspective, but the book is valuable just as well. The reader benefits from the fact that Meyer describes events he witnessed during that year.

During the course of the book, Meyer takes jibes at the first George Bush which, for me, lapsed into cliches. That was a disappointment. In the last chapter of the book Meyer, speculates about the about the meaning of the fall of the wall. I don't mind an author taking a particular political view, but this section yielded no real insight for me. It read like the babble you hear from talking heads every night. I was hungry for more analysis or, even, thoughtful opnion. Overall, however, the book is full of insight, filled with interesting stories, and well worth the listener's time. Ed Sala's reading is very good.

Distracting Narration

I enjoyed the personal observations of Mr. Meyer on events surrounding the crumbling of the iron curtain...but I found the monotone of the narrator distracting. I would also caution that the writing style of the Mr. Meyer is not for everyone...I personally find it a little annoying at times.

Spot on!

This is an excellent listen and spot on about how things were in 1989. The author also showed how the effects of 1989 still can be felt today...good and bad. This book should be a mandatory read or listen for every high school or college student.

important history - but quickly getting irrelevant

Wholesome book but not something spectacular. Somewhere in the middle I got slightly bored. It became more interesting at the end. That is a pity that iron curtain did not fall a few decades earlier.

Excellent Book written using first-hand expirience

Excellent Book written using first-hand expirience