A thrilling Cold War narrative of superpower showdowns, media suppression, and two escape tunnels beneath the Berlin Wall. In the summer of 1962, the year after the rise of the Berlin Wall, a group of young West Germans risked prison, Stasi torture, and even death to liberate friends, lovers, and strangers in East Berlin by digging tunnels under the Wall. Then two U.S. television networks heard … television networks heard about the secret projects and raced to be first to document them from the inside. NBC and CBS funded two separate tunnels in return for the right to film the escapes, planning spectacular prime-time specials. President John F. Kennedy, however, was wary of anything that might spark a confrontation with the Soviets, having said, “A wall is better than a war,” and even confessing to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, “We don’t care about East Berlin.” JFK approved unprecedented maneuvers to quash both documentaries, testing the limits of a free press in an era of escalating nuclear tensions.
As Greg Mitchell’s riveting narrative unfolds, we meet extraordinary characters: the legendary cyclist who became East Germany’s top target for arrest; the Stasi informer who betrays the “CBS tunnel”; the American student who aided the escapes; an engineer who would later help build the tunnel under the English channel; and the young East Berliner who fled with her baby, then married one of the tunnelers. The Tunnels captures the chilling reach of the Stasi secret police as U.S. networks prepared to “pay for play” but were willing to cave to official pressure, the White House was eager to suppress historic coverage, and ordinary people in dire circumstances became subversive. The Tunnels is breaking history, a propulsive read whose themes still reverberate.
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This non-fiction books almost reads like a novel as it details numerous escapes under the Berlin Wall. The reader learns much about life in Berlin during the 1960’s and explores the never ending issues of the press in politics and how much should be revealed to the public, and what role should politics play in the lives of people at home and in the world.
A brilliant evocation of Berlin one year on from the division of the city. The various tunnels and their characters are vividly painted by Mitchell. The impact of these tunnels went all the way to the White House and Mitchell follows the action scene by scene. And, of course, it’s all real! Excellent.
Incredible research back to 1961-63 that gives the reader a ground floor lok at the refugees trying to escape the oppression of the Berlin wall. Easy to read and and follow. Recommend for historical novel aficionados.
The author did a tremendous amount of research to illustrate the political background of fear in the cold war atmosphere of the Berlin wall. I had no idea that Pres. Kennedy was so afraid of Stalin and what he might do if the US forced the issue of the wall. It was fascinating also to read about the people who risked their lives digging the tunnels and escaping. Gives the reader a much better understanding of the world political situation.
It’s always good to be reminded the lengths people will go to experience the freedoms we take for granted. I could not put this book down. Beautifully written and important.
I was really enjoying this book, finding it very informative until the author left out a very important element: President Ronald Reagan’s speak challenging Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”. He completely skipped that part of history which lead me to disbelieve everything he had written prior to.
Very interesting reading.
Worth your time if you are wondering about what happened when Russia got one half of Berlin and the US the other. The difference is like heaven and hell.
The story was about the dedication of a relatively few people who worked through peril in order to dig tunnels under the infamous Berlin Wall. Success came in small steps and sadness came when some were betrayed.
This was a true story of the desire to be free to live and work in a free society.
Everyone who thinks Socialism is the way to go should read this book! You don’t need to wall people IN if your type of government is so great!
I lived through this period as a child but did not remember much besides big headlines. This book details what really happened post WWII in Germany, how the Soviets grabbed East Germany while the allies were snoozing.
One day anyone could leave East Berlin for the West, and the next day there was a wall. Surprisingly, many East Berliners went to school or had good paying jobs in the West. In the beginning it was fairly easy for most enterprising people to get out, but they often were determined to get a girlfriend, wife, or mother out, and that was not as easy. There was a famous East German bicycle racer who got involved in tunneling early on. Because of soil and leaky plumbing, digging a tunnel in Berlin would be scary and miserable work. How it all got worked out with spies in their midst is a very interesting story.
Book described escapes over and under Berlin Wall. However, it seemed to treat tunnelers and the TV networks that supported them as heroes, when in fact
Most of the escape and tunneling attempts failed due to amateurish student methods, carelessness, security breaches,, and ease of infiltrating their ranks.
The Networks were solely interested in getting a “scoop”, keeping the politicians happy, and minimizing expense. They did minimal work to ensure success of tunnels.
Well written, raises your emotions to the historical injustices of the past as well as keeping reader in suspense
I enjoyed this book very much. I must admit that as a young man during this period of history, I was mostly oblivious to what was going on in Berlin. In many places, the book read like an action novel. I would recommend it highly.
Historically accurate
Very informative and situated in the context of other historical events and issues that took place during this time, not just the successes but also the failures. An true eye opener.
Wasn’t aware of the tunnels. The detailed plans, extensive physical labor and shared goals make for an exhilerating read. Hard to put down once started.
The author coudln’t find it in his heart to mention Ronald Regan’s wall speech I guess, which was shocking to me. He took time to mention bruce springsteen played in E. Berlin tho..more important to the author I guerss, but makes you wonder what else he left out that was pertinent. And apparently the author doesn’t see the difference between the berlin wall (built to keep it’s people locked up) and Israel and the USA building walls to keep protect its citizens from outside harm. Not a very good thinker it seems. I would NOT recommend this book.
This story is about a couple, who escape from East Berlin, through tunnels. It is action packed and riveting. Well worth the read, which describes the issues, which led up to the Berlin wall, as well as what some people had to experience, in escaping from East Berlin. Well worth the read.