The Picnic: An Escape to Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain
冷戦末期の歴史的転換点を、個々の証言と現場感覚で立ち上がらせるノンフィクションとして評価されている。歴史の説明が厚いぶん、やや講義的に感じる読者もいる。
作品情報
小さな出来事が歴史の向きを変える瞬間を、臨場感をもって描く。
1989年のハンガリー国境付近で起きた「ピクニック」を起点に、鉄のカーテン崩壊の過程をたどる。ひとつの草の根の集まりが、どのようにして大きな政治変動へつながったのかを描く。
レビュー要約
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政治史の説明を、現場の証言と組み合わせて読みやすくした点が評価されている。歴史の大局と個々の体験を両立させる構成に支持が集まる。
書籍情報
- 出版社
- The Bodley Head Ltd
- 発売日
- 2024-01-25
- ページ数
- 320ページ
- 言語
- 英語
- サイズ
- 16.2 x 3.1 x 24 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781847927798
- ISBN-10
- 1847927793
- 価格
- 10848 JPY
- カテゴリ
- 洋書/Politics & Social Sciences/Politics & Government/Elections & Political Process/Political Advocacy
*WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2024* A gripping reconstruction of the daring escape to freedom of hundreds of East Germans in the summer of 1989 and how it led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. 'A pivotal – and exhilarating – moment in 20th century history. . . gripping' Observer 'Intensely moving' Sunday Times 'Engrossing and dramatic' William Boyd, New Statesman In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists did the unthinkable: they entered the forbidden militarised zone of the Iron Curtain - and held a picnic. On wisps of rumour, thousands of East German 'holiday-makers' had made their way to the border, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents. The stage was set for the greatest border breach in Cold War history. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Soviet Union - the so-called end of history - all would flow from what happened next. Drawing on dozens of original interviews with those involved, Matthew Longo reconstructs this world-shaping event and its tumultuous aftermath. ' Evoke[s] the dramatic events in vivid colour . . . fascinating' Katja Hoyer, Telegraph ***** ‘Captivating . . . a vivid, fast-paced narrative’ New York Times *SHORTLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL WRITERS ASSOCIATION NON-FICTION CROWN *A GUARDIAN BIGGEST FICTION AND NON-FICTION FOR 2024 *A WATERSTONES 'BOOK YOU NEED TO READ IN 2024' *A FOYLES TOP TEN READ FOR JANUARY 2024 * A TORTOISE MEDIA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
Matthew Longo is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Leiden University and the award-winning author of The Politics of Borders . He lives in The Netherlands.
レビュー
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The picnic
An excellent account
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An important event - excellently written.
An extraordinary moment in history. A well-researched story told in a compelling and insightful way. Bravo!
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An important piece of history brought to light
The Pan-European picnic was an important milestone in the road to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism. It was an inspiration and a clear demonstration that freedom was possible. I salute the author in raising the profile of this critical event. His political perspectives are less valuable.
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remarkable human stories
I found it hard to put this book down. Told through the story of the people who were, who organised the picnic which led to the breakout of hundreds of people from East Germany and Hungary to Austria, the people on both sides who took huge risks and the border breakers themselves who left behind everything and often everybody the knew in the hope of a new better life. As all refugees do, then and now. This is a very humane book, related a a cracking narrative pace, but never descending into melodrama. I heartily recommend this book if you are interested in 20th century European history, or indeed if you you enjoy remarkable human stories from any age
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The Curtain Comes Down
Largely an oral history of a how certain people from East Germany navigated their way to freedom, via Hungary, in August of 1989. This was one of the important episodes leading to the end came for the USSR and the Cold War. The strongest part of the book is the oral histories of the many courageous individual actors who made the crossings of that August possible. However, I think, the author, Professor Longo, at book's end veers away from his core story to lecture the reader on his personal concerns about today's pollical climate. He fears too much personal liberty and "sovereignist" thinking prevail at the cost of a good society. In Professor Longo's worldview, borders should be razed; not only those like the Berlin Wall that kept people in, but those intended to prevent unlawful entry. It's safe to say he would not like a border wall built on the U.S. border with Mexico. I'm not sure where he would be on the idea of Israel enforcing its own border security.
関連する文学賞
- オーウェル賞 第31回（2024年） ・Winner