Customer Reviews

Tear Down This Wall: A City, a President, and the Speech that Ended the Cold War

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This book is a look a the infamous Berlin Wall, and the 1987 speech given by US President Ronald Reagan wherein he challenged Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to tear the wall down. Starting with a quick look at the origins of the Wall, the book quickly moves on to the political rise of Mr. Reagan, focusing on the way his White House worked. Then, the interaction between the two leaders is examined, through to the end of the Reagan presidency.

Overall, I found this to be an OK book. It's far from a paean to President Reagan, but is instead, a clear-eyed look at what was going on behind the scenes. No punches are pulled, with such lines as, "Reagan was either spinning or deluding himself" (Page 55.) being included. My biggest problem with the book is that the author took such a momentous event as the end of the Cold War, and succeeds in reducing it to a surprisingly boring listing of who did what and why and when.

I guess what I would say is that this is a detailed look at what transpired behind the scenes in the Reagan White House, but it's the kind of sadly passionless book that would probably only really appeal to a policy wonk. The only passion to be found in the book is contained in the epilogue, which is an out-of-place salute to US President Barack Obama. I suppose this is not a complete surprise as the author is a deputy managing editor of Time magazine, which became noted for having a picture of the President on something like every other one of its covers.

I had hoped to enjoy this book, but I didn't, and I do not recommend it.

This is a well-written, clear-eyed and unbiased book about President Reagan's role in bringing down the Berlin Wall. The focus is on his speech-writers and the interesting machinations they went through en route to creating the speeches we find so memorable. In addition, the author interviewed key people, such as Gorbychav and gleaned many fascinating insights and anecdotes from them.

My only complaint is what has to be one of the strangest last chapters I've ever read. After not mentioning Obama for the entire book, the last chapter suddenly discusses Obama vs. Reagan, how they are alike, and different, how much Obama respected Reagan (really? seems our new president is trying to tear down everything Reagan held dear in respect to government's role in our lives as well as how to conduct foreign policy). The author concludes by giving Obama a pep-talk on what he must do to have as much impact on America and the world as Reagan did... of course, assuring us that President Obama has the goods and will deliver. Say what?

This is an excellent account of a great historical moment in American history concerning one of the great historical developments of the 20th century, the fall of communism. Well done! Couldn't have been better; history as exciting as a novel, but true. Hat's off to the author, making this a well focused, informative, and entertaining read on an eminently important subject. Well worth reading, especially by future leaders.

"Tear Down THis Wall" give us a picture of a time when leaders were willing to take a stand for a noble cause to help mankind. It is an interesting peak into the personalities of two world leaders and how they were able to accomplish the impossible.

an easy and entertaining history with lots of trivia about the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. Reagan was just one of the players.It is not a book about Reagan.

This is an excellent non-partisan handling of one of America's greatest orators. Whether you agree with Reagan's politics, you have to love his leadership. Mr. Ratnesar does a great job of presenting the many faces behind that momentous time in American History. The tension and friendship between Ronald Reagan and Michael Gorbechav, was fascinating and the author does a superb job breaking down that unique relationship, keeping it interesting while informative. This book is a good piece that belongs with the rest of Reagan histories.

President Reagan's speech at Berlin's 750th anniversary was more than a challenge to Chairman Gorbachev. In many ways, the speech was a triumph of will, a sharp coda to a fundamental change in the Western World, marking the end of empires along with new possibilities.

The speech did not happen in a vacuum. Reagan's strong views on The Wall were well formed and well known long before he became president. They were also held by many others as well, but certainly not all. This book is more then a retelling of the speech, but a narrative of how it came about, with a quick pace that is very much like a cliff hanging adventure story.

All governments are reactionary, resistant to changes of any kind that they cannot directly and absolutely control. Those in the US bureaucracy opposing the challenge, even the speech's tone, differed from their European and Soviet counterparts only in their creative justifications for, in effect, not rocking the boat. When it became clear that the speech was a defining moment in the Cold War, did those who opposed it most claimed credit for their bold words and visions of possibilities.

The narrative goes beyond Washington's turf battles, looking as well at the context, through European and Soviet eyes. Some two years later, The Wall came down. It would have happened sooner or later; Berlin, after all, had seen a lot during its 750 years. Reagen's speech helped the process along, more by looking to the future of possibilities rather than the rigidities of the past.

The book's 219 pages are organized into ten chapters, with an epilogue, well researched, and includes the speech's text. It also has a nice `where are they now?' section, contrasting their lives' now with what they were then when they were witnesses to the speech. Very readable, and highly recommended.

Really enjoyed reading this book. I am by no means an academic or historian, yet I found it riveting. I was 11 years old when the wall fell and Tear Down This Wall put me back in the cold war frame of mind that we often forget. The book is well researched and provides an interesting perspective on the end of the cold war and the events leading up to it. It even included recently declassified state department documents which is just cool. All this packed into 200 concise pages. Timing of the book is also great with the 20th anniversary around the corner.

I don't usually like these kinds of history books as much as my Dad, partly because I've spent my life hearing about each Presidential bio he's read, but I was totally into Romesh Ratnesar's account of a far more complicated time than it looked like when I was living through it. He uses the most important moment of Reagan's presidentcy to explain not just the man, but the world in the 1980s. It's a portrait of Reagan that surprises - he's both more out of it and more brilliant, more oblivious to details and more unilateral in his decision making process than I expected. If you've ever read Romesh's stuff in Time you know that he is a spare, honest, thoughtful deliverer of prose in an era where everyone else is trying too hard to get your attention. Like I am right here. And not to ruin anything, but at the end, the wall does come down.

As a lifelong Reagan Conservative, I was often dismayed in the `80s at the leftist partisan rancor and ideologically-based myopia of The Media when assessing President Reagan's Cold War (CW) policies - not because I supported them but because of the few credible alternative solutions offered to break the CW stalemate. For all the obstinate - even haughty - disregard for RR's policies, it was obvious that The Left was willing to perpetuate the CW with the same, tired Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)/Detente policies. Yet, as RR correctly envisioned, the "Status Quo" (RR's definition: "That's Latin for the fix we're in") wasn't working, and the insanity of doing things the same way and expecting different results was destructive. Today, many revisionist historians try to collectively give the 8 CW presidents for ending it (particularly those who never agreed with RR's policies to begin with and cannot admit they were wrong). Yet, despite the efforts of his 7 predecessors, the CW was at a stalemate when RR entered office, with Soviet military strength increasing while the US wallowed in economic problems and declines in military viability and international credibility. Yet, from 1981-89, Ronald Reagan changed all of that. RR ultimately became the president that actually ended the CW - not merely one who carried over the fight (as his predecessors did).

"Tear Down This Wall" (TDTW) is an aspect-specific treatment of the CW, with RR's famous speech at Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987 represented as the visionary culmination point of RR's diplomatic, military, socio-economic, and clandestine/ intelligence services CW efforts in oratory form. It was the basis on which he could assert - from the position of strength his policies afforded - that the wall needed to and must be torn down. Peter Robinson, Anthony Dolan, Peter Rodman, Dana Rohrbacker (among others) provided the primary drafts, revisions, and defense of the speech, while "Roz" Ridgeway, Colin Powell, and George Schultz vetted it for diplomatic and doctrinal viability. The contention over the speech and its famous line threatened to alter its meaning and impact considerably. Yet, it was Reagan alone who ensured that this didn't happen, understanding intuitively that its time had come. He was, in effect, ending the most contentious phase of the CW, conveying that it was now possible for the wall to come down. Like his seminal speeches predicting the demise of the Soviet Regime in front of the British Parliament (June 8, 1982), National Association of Evangelicals, Orlando, Florida (March 8, 1983), and others, his comments were dismissed by elitist European and US Leftist pundits who found it incomprehensible that RR could have it right and themselves wrong. However, as countless historical examples illustrate, RR's words were almost perfect in tone - alternating between forceful, purposeful prescience and realism, structured with rhetoric that further defined the conflict in moral terms. Why the so called "experts" did not or would not see it is perhaps another book yet to be written on the period.

TDTW also provides a good thumbnail sketch of the CW period - from Truman's attendance at the Potsdam Conference on 17 July - 2 August 1945 to the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Regime on Christmas Day 1991. For the casual History reader, this is easy to take - as it provides a substantive framework without unnecessary or extraneous analysis. For those with a more intense interest in the period, it is a worthwhile primer - and does provide an external, Journalist-eye view of the speech-making process (which makes it more objective than the memoir by Peter Robinson). Overall, it is a worthwhile - if not a seminal read.

The primary fault of TDTW is its deference to the Northeastern Liberal Establishment conclusion on who really ended the CW. While most do (if albeit reluctantly) acknowledge RR's role, it is minimized in favor of Gorbachev's - whom the far left European community had always favored. The fact that Gorbachev collected a Nobel Peace Prize in 1988 - and not Reagan - is a vivid illustration of how pre-disposed to this perception they were (in spite of the facts). On Page 189, Ratnesar writes: "None would have been possible without Gorbachev; in this drama, Reagan was the supporting actor."

However, the book - and this position - miss several keys points, including: 1) RR had pursued his CW policies for 5 years before Gorbachev took power, setting the tone, conditions - and pressure on the USSR. Gorbachev was left with the challenge to respond to conditions not of his making; 2) Gorbachev understood the need for reform but it was RR who formulated US policy to exploit those weaknesses that led to it. Once again, the Soviets were left to deal with a CW paradigm that RR had changed; 3) It was RR that proposed all of the major agreements that were eventually adopted - from the "Double Zero" option, START to the elimination of INF weapons. In sum, it was RR who dictated the tempo while Gorbachev's role was largely defensive. His real contribution is rooted more in his response (or lack of, as when the Wall started to crumble), and less in the initiatives that forced a re-thinking of the CW. That achievement belongs to Reagan.

In sum, TDTW is a capably written, journalistic treatment of the period and vivid illustration of a great president, and the creation and impacts of his most famous the speech. It provides Western and Eastern bloc eye-witness accounts that personalizes the speech and cessation of the CW. It is a good - though not ground-breaking - illustration of the closing chapters of one of the most compelling periods in World History.