The File

A Personal History

Nonfiction, History, Germany, Modern, 20th Century, Biography & Memoir, Literary
Cover of the book The File by Timothy Garton Ash, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Timothy Garton Ash ISBN: 9780307756763
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Publication: September 22, 2010
Imprint: Vintage Language: English
Author: Timothy Garton Ash
ISBN: 9780307756763
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication: September 22, 2010
Imprint: Vintage
Language: English

"Eloquent, aware and scrupulous . . . a rich and instructive examination of the Cold War past." --The New York Times

In 1978 a romantic young Englishman took up residence in Berlin to see what that divided city could teach him about tyranny and freedom. Fifteen years later Timothy Garton Ash--who was by then famous for his reportage of the downfall of communism in Central Europe--returned. This time he had come to look at a file that bore the code-name "Romeo." The file had been compiled by the Stasi, the East German secret police, with the assistance of dozens of informers. And it contained a meticulous record of Garton Ash's earlier life in Berlin.

In this memoir, Garton Ash describes what it was like to rediscover his younger self through the eyes of the Stasi, and then to go on to confront those who actually informed against him to the secret police. Moving from document to remembrance, from the offices of British intelligence to the living rooms of retired Stasi officers, The File is a personal narrative as gripping, as disquieting, and as morally provocative as any fiction by George Orwell or Graham Greene. And it is all true.

"In this painstaking, powerful unmasking of evil, the wretched face of tyranny is revealed." --Philadelphia Inquirer

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"Eloquent, aware and scrupulous . . . a rich and instructive examination of the Cold War past." --The New York Times

In 1978 a romantic young Englishman took up residence in Berlin to see what that divided city could teach him about tyranny and freedom. Fifteen years later Timothy Garton Ash--who was by then famous for his reportage of the downfall of communism in Central Europe--returned. This time he had come to look at a file that bore the code-name "Romeo." The file had been compiled by the Stasi, the East German secret police, with the assistance of dozens of informers. And it contained a meticulous record of Garton Ash's earlier life in Berlin.

In this memoir, Garton Ash describes what it was like to rediscover his younger self through the eyes of the Stasi, and then to go on to confront those who actually informed against him to the secret police. Moving from document to remembrance, from the offices of British intelligence to the living rooms of retired Stasi officers, The File is a personal narrative as gripping, as disquieting, and as morally provocative as any fiction by George Orwell or Graham Greene. And it is all true.

"In this painstaking, powerful unmasking of evil, the wretched face of tyranny is revealed." --Philadelphia Inquirer

More books from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Cover of the book The Flower Boy by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book Willa Cather In Europe by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book But Where is the Lamb? by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book A Very Expensive Poison by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book The Road from Coorain by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book In the Place of Justice by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book Down the Up Escalator by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book Crooked Little Heart by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book Resistance, Rebellion, and Death by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book The Lemon Table by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book Power to Save the World by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book Endpoint and Other Poems by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book The Man Who Never Stopped Sleeping by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book Betraying Spinoza by Timothy Garton Ash
Cover of the book The Question of Bruno by Timothy Garton Ash
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy