The Year That Changed the World: The Untold Story Behind the Fall of the Berlin Wall

This is a very complete history of 1989, the fall of the Berlin wall, how it came about, and the aftermath, in some detail. An easily readable writing style. Certainly recommended for history fans.

I read this book in one sitting in a couple of hours,and think it is an absolutely unputdownable must read. A thrilling eye-witness and insider account of the collapse of Communism and the Fall of the Berlin Wall which divided a country and a continent into East and West. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Hollywood snapped up the rights. Life has written an story so unbelievable,so true and unique no scriptwriter can ever concoct. A once in a lifetime true life tale of the fight between good and evil,and the desire for exhilarating feeling that is called freedom. As a Hungarian I was fortunate enough myself to witness this tumultuous and uplifting year. It felt incredible to be a very minute part of it as one of the people, and to see how an entire bloc of nations driven by their desire for freedom, with more than a little help from a few wise men accomplished what was thought to be impossible for decades. For us,the change was helmed by one man in particular, to whom Mr Meyer dedicates this incredible book,and who emerges as the "hidden hero" of this saga. And that man is no other than our then Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth who is now revealed as secret "Hungarian connection" between East and West,and the driving force behind the transformations and key events which took place in Hungary and other Eastern bloc countries at a breakneck pace. He risked everything, (including his own life) to create a better country for us and a better Europe and world for everyone. I'm so proud that our Harvard educated PM finally gets the credit and recognition he deserves.For, as the author writes, beneath the shy exterior, there was a strong man of steely will and strong convictions who was also a quietly determined and an exceptionally intelligent person. I remember the way he stood up for freedom and peace and spoke out and acted against tyranny,lies,opression,and hatred, showing wisdom, broad-mindedness,sincerity and courage which belied his years All this in a country which was on the brink of ruin and bankruptcy. At that time, at just barely forty years of age he was the youngest PM in the world, which in itself was no mean feat.Faced with the daunting task of putting the economy and the political system right, he refused to become just another grey,obedient,shallow "apparatchik" type of PM and began to work on destroying the Communist party the only way it could be destroyed after the failed events of 1956: from within. Not single-handedly of course, but with fellow local and foreign politicians who shared his views. His enemies tried to engineer his fall, we wanted him to pull through and succeed.Mr Meyer thank you for writing this book and giving Mr Nemeth the recognition he was given all around the world, except here at home. I would say that this book is a must read for everyone here who still has doubts about the crucial role our PM played in bringing about these incredible changes which altered the face of Europe forever. Read and see how t

So much going on in so many places but you are there. The broad outlines of the fall of the Berlin Wall are well known but in this accounting the story of the events is woven like a novel and links brilliantly the unfolding of the transition from communistic dictatorship to democracy across eastern Europe. Michael Meyer is the consummate reporter. His accounting of events through personal conversations gives the reader a sense of sitting in on the meetings and interviews. But Meyer goes beyond mere description and recounting of events. His analysis and assessments of the key players puts the year in perspective to the sweep of history from world war II to the present. Meyer focuses on the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Romania showing the interrelationship of events and how they played on one another. How did it all come about and who gets the credit for "The fall of the wall"is clearly shown. How did Ronald Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" come about. For the want of a nail... is the amazing out come to an incredible faux pas by the head of the GDR in changing East Germany's travel policy. This fascinating story moves back and forth across eastern Europe in breathless fashion but is told with the hand of a historian.

Meyer was present during one of the most important times in modern European history and writes about it beautifully. There is something for everyone in this book, from the avid history aficionado to the casual reader curious about what living history really looks/reads like. Stylistically, this kind of story-telling is often difficult but Meyer's writing makes the images flow, and the book is a pleasure. I'm looking forward to his next book!

President Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" exhortation when visiting Berlin in 1987 has long been cited as the call that brought the Cold War to an end. Others credit it to Reagan's military buildup bankrupting the Soviets trying to catch up, a secret agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices (went from $40/barrel in 1980 to less than $9 within nine years) and undercut the Russian economy, or the rise of oppressed people seeking democracy. In "The Year That Changed the World," Meyer instead contends that the U.S.S.R. fell for mostly other reasons - the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland, the stealth opening of the Hungarian border, the Velvet Revolution in Prague, the collapse of the Berlin Wall (unrelated to Reagan), and the leadership of courageous individuals in Prague (Vaclav Havel), Poland (Lech Walesa and General Jaruzelski), Hungary (Miklos Nemeth), and Russia (Mikhail Gorbachev), and the collapse of oil prices. Meyer also sees our fantasies of 1989 as directly related to America's disaster in Iraq - supposedly all we had to do was confront the Evil One and the people would rise up and throw off their shackles. The actual opening of the Berlin Wall came at 11:17 P.M., 11/09/1989 during a night of confusion and error at Checkpoint Charlie. Growing numbers of Germans had gathered on both sides after hearing that all East Germans would have the right to a passport. (The new direction was to be implemented the next day, through bureaucratic channels. East Germany's leader, Egon Krenz, had his hand forced by Hungary's prior opening its border with Austria and Czechoslovakia) The guard commander could not get orders from the Interior Ministry, and perhaps had heard that another crossing had just opened up - in any case, he probably had no real choice. When erected in 1961, 1,000/day were fleeing East Germany - both an embarrassment and brain drain. Prior to this, in late 1988 a small group of communist reformers came to power in Hungary, led by an economist Miklos Nemeth who had spent a year at Harvard. They were confronted by an economy in shambles (30% inflation, per capita debt higher than any other European nation, and a declining standard of living). Nemeth, known as a reformer and a communist party member in good standing, knew he had about 6 months to rid Hungary of communism, else he and reformism would be blamed for the economy and ousted. Hoping to also reap Western investments by being the first Warsaw Pact member to bolt, he quickly cut subsidies for state-owned enterprises, abandoned government price-fixing, and allowed independent political 'clubs.' What stayed the hand of higher Hungarian authorities? Meyer credits uncertainty about how Gorbachev would react. He had already declared his intention to remove 250,000+ troops from Eastern Europe and 10,000 tanks, planes and missiles, declaring that the Warsaw Pact nations would be responsible for themselves. (On the other side, Tienanmen