Review
"An appealing blend of investigative and reflective reporting, with the narrative drive of powerful human-interest stories. . . . There is no denying Funder's journalistic talents."
Travel Books of the Year, Sunday Times
‘A journey into the bizarre, scary, secret history of the former East Germany that is both relevant and riveting’
Sunday Times
‘Funder is a superb interviewer…she truly excels in the rendering of her sessions with former Stasi employees
Telegraph
'Stasiland...is a terrific act of life-giving to people who have lacked not just a voice but an audience’
Evening Standard
‘Brilliantly illustrates the weird, horrifying, viciously cruel place that was Cold War East Germany...'
Product Description
In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell; shortly afterwards the two Germanies reunited, and East Germany ceased to exist. In a country where the headquarters of the secret police can become a museum literally overnight, and one in 50 East Germans were informing on their countrymen and women, there are a thousand stories just waiting to get out. Anna Funder tells extraordinary tales from the underbelly of the former East Germany - she meets Miriam, who as a 16-year-old might have started World War III, visits the man who painted the line which became the Berlin Wall and gets drunk with the legendary "Mik Jegger" of the East, once declared by the authorities to his face to "no longer to exist".
About the Author
Anna Funder was born in Melbourne in 1966. She has worked as an international lawyer and a radio and television producer. In 1997 she was writer-in-residence at the Australia Centre in Potsdam. She lives in Sydney with her husband and baby.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
