{"product_id":"the-collapse-the-accidental-opening-of-the-berlin-wall-paperback","title":"The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMary Elise Sarotte\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the night of November 9, 1989, massive crowds surged toward the Berlin Wall, drawn by an announcement that caught the world by surprise: East Germans could now move freely to the West. The Wall -- infamous symbol of divided Cold War Europe -- seemed to be falling. But the opening of the gates that night was not planned by the East German ruling regime -- nor was it the result of a bargain between either Ronald Reagan or George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e It was an accident. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eThe Collapse\u003c\/i\u003e, prize-winning historian Mary Elise Sarotte reveals how a perfect storm of decisions made by daring underground revolutionaries, disgruntled Stasi officers, and dictatorial party bosses sparked an unexpected series of events culminating in the chaotic fall of the Wall. With a novelist's eye for character and detail, she brings to vivid life a story that sweeps across Budapest, Prague, Dresden, and Leipzig and up to the armed checkpoints in Berlin. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e We meet the revolutionaries Roland Jahn, Aram Radomski, and Siggi Schefke, risking it all to smuggle the truth across the Iron Curtain; the hapless Politburo member GÃ1\/4Schabowski, mistakenly suggesting that the Wall is open to a press conference full of foreign journalists, including NBC's Tom Brokaw; and Stasi officer Harald Jär, holding the fort at the crucial border crossing that night. Soon, Brokaw starts broadcasting live from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, where the crowds are exulting in the euphoria of newfound freedom -- and the dictators are plotting to restore control. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Drawing on new archival sources and dozens of interviews, \u003ci\u003eThe Collapse\u003c\/i\u003e offers the definitive account of the night that brought down the Berlin Wall.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMary E. Sarotte\u003c\/b\u003e is Dean's Professor of History at the University of Southern California. A former White House Fellow, Humboldt Scholar, and journalist, she is the author of the prize-winning \u003ci\u003e1989: The Struggle to Create Post-Cold War Europe\u003c\/i\u003e, a \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e book of the year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 8.1 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 29, 2015\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45342341464166,"sku":"9780465049905","price":27.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/MTV2OC9wdGtVMXVaZ1RIR0ozdWFKZz09.webp?v=1774878443","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/the-collapse-the-accidental-opening-of-the-berlin-wall-paperback","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}