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"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" President Ronald Reagan's famous exhortation when visiting Berlin in 1987 has long been widely cited as the clarion call that brought the Cold War to an end. The United States won, so this version of history goes, because Ronald Reagan stood firm against the USSR; American resoluteness brought the evil empire to its knees. Michael Meyer, who was there at the time as a Newsweek bureau chief, begs to differ. In this extraordinarily compelling account of the revolutions that roiled Eastern Europe in 1989, Meyer shows that American intransigence was only one of many factors that provoked world-shaking change. He draws together breathtakingly vivid, on-the-ground accounts of the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland, the stealth opening of the Hungarian border, the Velvet Revolution in Prague, and the collapse of the infamous wall in Berlin. But the most important events, Meyer contends, occurred secretly, in the heroic stands taken by individuals in the thick of the struggle-leaders such as poet and playwright Vaclav Havel in Prague; the Baltic shipwright Lech Walesa; the quietly determined reform prime minister in Budapest, Miklos Nemeth; and the man who privately realized that his empire was already lost and decided, with courage and intelligence, to let it go in peace, Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet general secretary of the Communist party. Reporting for Newsweek from the frontlines in Eastern Europe, Meyer spoke to these players and countless others. Alongside their deliberate interventions were also the happenstance and human error of history that are always present when events accelerate to breakneck speed. Meyer captures these heady days in all of their rich drama and unpredictability. In doing so he provides not just a thrilling chronicle of the most important year of the twentieth century but also a crucial refutation of American political mythology and a triumphal misunderstanding of history that seduced the United States into many of the intractable conflicts it faces today. The Year That Changed the World will change not only how we see the past, but also our understanding of America's future.
- Sales Rank: #1006514 in Books
- Published on: 2009-09-08
- Released on: 2009-09-08
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.05" h x 6.30" w x 9.26" l, .95 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 272 pages
- ISBN13: 9781416558453
- Condition: USED - Like New
- Notes: 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Review
"The twentieth century ended with a bang in 1989 and Michael Meyer has vividly captured the drama, import and energy of that fascinating year....This is a riveting, rollicking [book]." ---Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American World
About the Author
Michael Meyer is currently Director of Communications for the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Between 1988 and 1992, he was Newsweek's Bureau Chief for Germany, Central Europe and the Balkans, writing more than twenty cover stories on the break-up of communist Europe and German unification. He is the winner of two Overseas Press Club Awards and appears regularly as a commentator for MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, C-Span, NPR and other broadcast network. He previously worked at the Washington Post and Congressional Quarterly. He is the author of the Alexander Complex (Times Books, 1989), an examination of the psychology of American empire builders. He lives in New York City.
From The Washington Post
From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Gerard DeGroot Friedrich Nietzsche once described an argument about history. "I have done that," claims memory. "I cannot have done that," pride retorts. Or, to put it differently: The past is what happened, history what we decide to remember. We mine the past for myths to buttress our present. The good historian is a myth-buster. Michael Meyer is a very good historian. As Newsweek's bureau chief for Eastern Europe in 1989, he watched the world turn on a dime. The myth he busts in this book concerns the contribution the United States made to the collapse of communist regimes that year. Some Americans want to believe that those regimes crumbled because of White House manipulation -- clever diplomacy backed by raw power. In fact, American meddling was rather benign and, during that fateful year, conspicuously ill conceived. The preferred myth begins with Ronald Reagan speaking at the Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987. "We hear from Moscow about a new openness," he sneered, demanding proof. "Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" According to the myth, the wall came tumbling down because Reagan, like some benevolent wizard, shouted "open sesame!" The moral drawn is that evil, dictatorial regimes crumble when confronted by righteous indignation. Cue Saddam Hussein. George W. Bush, who idolized Reagan, tried to emulate his hero. His distortion of the past inspired tragedy in the present. The real story, minus the comic book hero, is more complicated -- and interesting. Reagan still plays a role, but as diplomat, not Rambo. His contribution came in accommodation; his willingness to talk to Gorbachev gave the Soviet leader the confidence to break molds. Gorbachev, furthermore, did not tear down the wall; he merely suggested that change would be tolerated. The events themselves were played out by a cast of thousands in Budapest, Berlin, Prague, Warsaw and Bucharest. There was no script; this was an improvisational drama conceived by Camus, with help from Kafka and Molière. The Soviet Union came to the realization that its empire was no longer affordable. Like other imperial powers, it cut and ran, leaving colonial subjects to sort things out for themselves. Chaos naturally resulted. Hidden deep in this brilliant book is the perfect phrase: Events were shaped by "the logic of human messiness." The regimes in Eastern Europe were destroyed not by monolithic force, but by myriad human beings reacting impulsively to the freedom of possibility. Watching from afar, we saw what seemed like neat little dominoes falling. In fact, what happened was as capricious, and messy, as a tornado. Chance played a huge part. Meyer points out, for instance, that the "fall" of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989, was an accident. It all started when Hungary unilaterally decided to open its border with Austria, thus offering East Germans an opportunity to join their cousins in the West by taking the long way around. Tens of thousands departed every day. With his country bleeding to death, East German leader Egon Krenz recklessly decided to grant freedom of travel, the logic being that if movement was not forbidden, his people would return. The policy was to be implemented "ab sofort" -- "immediately." Krenz's "immediately" meant the next day, in controlled fashion. The East German people took "sofort" to mean "now." They converged on Checkpoint Charlie that night. A frightened border guard, lacking guidance, waited a few hours and then opened the sluice gates to a torrent of humanity. In an instant the wall fell, and so, too, did the logic of East Germany. What was supposed to have been managed reform became instead a chaotic revolution of people walking. Krenz, who had hoped to salvage some elements of socialism, lost control of events when Easterners crossed to the other side. History pivoted on the misinterpretation of a word. Krenz called it a "botch." "Our leaders all wear a uniform mask and declare identical phrases," the Czech dissident Vaclav Havel told Meyer in October 1989. "Perhaps at the moment of history, the masks will fall, and it is only at that moment that we know who is who. . . . We may be surprised to find that the masks concealed an intelligent face." Meyer unmasks some intelligent faces, unlikely heroes who, at the moment of history, acted wisely. Chief among them was Hungarian Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth, a communist who decided that communism did not work and quietly conspired to destroy it. In contrast to Czechoslovakia and East Germany, Hungary's revolution was a coup carried out by a few sensible men. My students would call this a "friendly" book. Meyer recounts momentous events in an accessible, engaging and intensely dramatic way. I had occasionally to remind myself that I was reading nonfiction; history is seldom written with such verve. The book is a two-for-one deal: a fine piece of analysis and a fascinating personal memoir. Added as a bonus are some poignant lessons: Dialogue often beats force, and heroes are sometimes quiet.
Copyright 2009, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.
Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
A miraculous year
By hexe
I read this book in one sitting in a couple of hours,and think it is an absolutely unputdownable must read. A thrilling eye-witness and insider account of the collapse of Communism and the Fall of the Berlin Wall which divided a country and a continent into East and West. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Hollywood snapped up the rights. Life has written an story so unbelievable,so true and unique no scriptwriter can ever concoct. A once in a lifetime true life tale of the fight between good and evil,and the desire for exhilarating feeling that is called freedom. As a Hungarian I was fortunate enough myself to witness this tumultuous and uplifting year. It felt incredible to be a very minute part of it as one of the people, and to see how an entire bloc of nations driven by their desire for freedom, with more than a little help from a few wise men accomplished what was thought to be impossible for decades.
For us,the change was helmed by one man in particular, to whom Mr Meyer dedicates this incredible book,and who emerges as the "hidden hero" of this saga. And that man is no other than our then Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth who is now revealed as secret "Hungarian connection" between East and West,and the driving force behind the transformations and key events which took place in Hungary and other Eastern bloc countries at a breakneck pace. He risked everything, (including his own life) to create a better country for us and a better Europe and world for everyone. I'm so proud that our Harvard educated PM finally gets the credit and recognition he deserves.For, as the author writes, beneath the shy exterior, there was a strong man of steely will and strong convictions who was also a quietly determined and an exceptionally intelligent person. I remember the way he stood up for freedom and peace and spoke out and acted against tyranny,lies,opression,and hatred, showing wisdom, broad-mindedness,sincerity and courage which belied his years All this in a country which was on the brink of ruin and bankruptcy. At that time, at just barely forty years of age he was the youngest PM in the world, which in itself was no mean feat.Faced with the daunting task of putting the economy and the political system right, he refused to become just another grey,obedient,shallow "apparatchik" type of PM and began to work on destroying the Communist party the only way it could be destroyed after the failed events of 1956: from within. Not single-handedly of course, but with fellow local and foreign politicians who shared his views. His enemies tried to engineer his fall, we wanted him to pull through and succeed.Mr Meyer thank you for writing this book and giving Mr Nemeth the recognition he was given all around the world, except here at home. I would say that this book is a must read for everyone here who still has doubts about the crucial role our PM played in bringing about these incredible changes which altered the face of Europe forever. Read and see how the new history of the old continent was "written". This is one book and one year you will never forget. And to the Hungarian protagonist: Mr Nemeth, if you happen to ever read this, thank you for all you've done. You were,and still are amazing.
9 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
A sense of presence
By Ron M. Linton
So much going on in so many places but you are there. The broad outlines of the fall of the Berlin Wall are well known but in this accounting the story of the events is woven like a novel and links brilliantly the unfolding of the transition from communistic dictatorship to democracy across eastern Europe. Michael Meyer is the consummate reporter. His accounting of events through personal conversations gives the reader a sense of sitting in on the meetings and interviews. But Meyer goes beyond mere description and recounting of events. His analysis and assessments of the key players puts the year in perspective to the sweep of history from world war II to the present.
Meyer focuses on the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Romania showing the interrelationship of events and how they played on one another. How did it all come about and who gets the credit for "The fall of the wall"is clearly shown. How did Ronald Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" come about. For the want of a nail... is the amazing out come to an incredible faux pas by the head of the GDR in changing East Germany's travel policy.
This fascinating story moves back and forth across eastern Europe in breathless fashion but is told with the hand of a historian.
5 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
One of the most important books of 2009
By Dag Stomberg
This was one book waiting to be written and published.
Michael Meyer, formally Newsweek magazine bureau chief for
Germany, Central Europe and the Balkans between 1988 and
1992 has written a scrupulous and honest book utterly without illusions... the events that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall
and collapse of the USSR are documented in a very readable prose.
THE YEAR THAT CHANGED THE WORLD is a must read, helping us to interpret the past, but also our understanding of
our future and for the generations to come!
Dag Stomberg
St. Andrews, Scotland
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