Very interesting perspective on an event I knew very little about beforehand. Is demonstrative of how even small catalysts can cause large events. ( )

5266. The Collapse The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall, by Mary Elise Sarotte (read 13 Apr 2015) There are only a few days in world affairs which stand out as sheerly happy days and Nov 9, 1989, is surely one of those days. I was ecstatic when the Berlin Wall fell. Seldom does a single non-personal event inspire unalloyed happiness. The only thing to compare with it is a day such as when Harry Truman was elected in November, 1948--so unexpected and so satisfying. Obama's victories in 2008 and 2012 are similar days of sheer joy. This excellent book tells of the days in 1989 leading up to the fall of the Wall: the massive peaceful march in Leipzig, the exiting of people from East Germany, and then the actual fall of the Wall! The author shows that the wall did not fall because of anything Reagan said or Bush did, but that it really was accidental that the East German Communists were so flustered and that the evilest of them were out of power and the East German people took advantage of the situation and peacefully caused the wall to be opened. This brings that great day to life and memory again, and I found the reading quite an emotional experience.. P.S. Another such day of pure unalloyed joy: the day in 2016 that the Cubs won the World Series. ( )

Too much detail for most readers I would suspect, but my personal travel in Germany connected me to this piece of history. Overwhelmingly I came away feeling that what people do, one step at a time can in fact come together to affect change. Most surely a lesson we all need to internalize as we face so many complicated scenarios ahead. Pieces move, interact, change; territories are complicated but malleable. Recommended to those interested in world history and world politics. KH

Too much detail for most readers I would suspect, but my personal travel in Germany connected me to this piece of history. Overwhelmingly I came away feeling that what people do, one step at a time can in fact come together to affect change. Most surely a lesson we all need to internalize as we face so many complicated scenarios ahead. Pieces move, interact, change; territories are complicated but malleable. Recommended to those interested in world history and world politics. KH ( )

Not a bad book; her thesis is that the wall would have come down anyway once the German people realized their strength ( )