Berlin Journal, 1989-1990 [Hardcover]

Robert Darnton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1991

Spending the 1989-1990 academic year in Eastern Germany, the historian Robert Darnton found himself caught up in the dramatic events in Berlin and Leipzig which eventually forced the re-unification of Germany. This eye-witness account of the French Revolution traces a revolution of a different kind where there were no barricades, no storming of the Bastille and no guillotines. Darnton covers both the overthrow of the old East German regime (September 1989 - January 1990) and the establishment of the new (January - July 1990) travelling widely to uncover the lives of those who had suffered in silence for 40 years. In hours of conversation with his academic colleagues and ordinary citizens, newly elected local officials and member of the staunch Communist Old Guard, and an extraordinary survivor of the Holocaust, Darnton heard the East Germans unburden themselves of their past and express their hopes for the future. Darnton's book shows the human face of revolution, thus refreshing our sense of the possible in history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A scholar of the French Revolution, Darnton ( The Kiss of Lamourette: Reflections in Cultural History ) spent the 1989-1990 academic year in Berlin, where he witnessed the popular uprising in the East that transformed both Germanies. His essays here include firsthand reports of historic events (public demonstrations, the Berlin Wall's crumbling) and consider both cultural differences and the move to unite Germany. His observations of various Ossis (East Germans)--including artists and political outcasts on a pub crawl, auto mechanics who are "king" of the barter economy, political organizers in a village vicarage and censors committed both to literature and socialism--illuminate the revolution's slogan, "We are the people." Darnton is at his best relating the unforgettable tale of Isaak Behar, a Holocaust survivor who recalls Berlin before the Wall. Elsewhere, the book too often reveals its roots in magazine reportage (shorter versions of some chapters originally appeared in the New Republic ), repeating anecdotes and explanations, and still trying to make news out of what has by now become history.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Well-known historian Darnton ( The Great Cat Massacre , LJ 12/1/83) was spending an academic year in Berlin when he decided to temporarily set aside his 18th-century historical research in order to monitor closely the momentous events taking place around him. The result is this journal which, aside from being a chronology of the months before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, delves deeply into the mindset of the soon-to-be-liberated East Germans. Despite the obvious cultural and linguistic similarities shared by the two Germanies, the author discovers remarkable differences as well. The strength of this book, as of John Borneman's similar account After the Wall ( LJ 2/15/91), is in its immediacy and its portrayal of revolutionary events through the eyes of those most af fected by them, the East Germans.-- Ian Wallace, Agriculture Canada Lib., St.
Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1 edition (June 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393029700
• ISBN-13: 978-0393029703
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,364,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but lacking in depth, September 27, 2003

By 

doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Berlin Journal, 1989-1990 (Paperback)

Robert Darnton, am 18th century historian was on sabbatacal in Berlin during the momentous changes of 1989 - 1990. His observations, thoughts and eyewitness accounts of the "change" are contained in his _Berlin Journal_. It is tepid at best.

My primary issue is with Darnton in the role of "historian" as journalist - neither should meddle in the affairs of the other. I also have issues with his lack of perspective and understanding of comtemporary German culture, politics and society. This lack of understanding is a major obstacle in putting the events in their proper perspective. Furthermore, very little attention is given to the slow groundswell of anti-Communist sentiment and the frequency of demonstrations in cities other than Berlin and Leipzig - like Chemnitz (aka "Karl-Marx Stadt" in DDR times), Schwerein and Rostock. Darnton also misses the importance of the "middle classes" and "middle aged" in making the "revolution" happen (it certainly would have failed were it only a "youth movement.")

While it is an interesting read of a magical time, it really lacks the depth and perspective a better informed witness could have brought the book.