Retracing the Iron Curtain: A 3,000-Mile Journey Through the End and Afterlife of the Cold War

by Timothy Phillips Narrated by Gerard McCarthy

Overview

Initially a victory line where Allies met at the end of WWII, the Iron Curtain quickly became the front of a new kind of war. It divided Europe from north to south for forty-five years. Crossing it in either direction was always a political act; in many cases, it was a crime to even talk about doing so. New generations have grown up since these borders came down, freed from the restrictions of the Cold War era. But what has the Iron Curtain left in its wake?



Timothy Phillips travels its full 3,000-mile route to craft this new people's history of a defining twentieth-century conflict. Here, in the borderlands where a powerful clash of civilizations took form in concrete and barbed wire, he uncovers the remarkable stories of everyday people forever imprinted by life in the Curtain's shadow.



Some look back on the era with nostalgia, even affection, while others despise it, unable to forgive the decades of hardship their families and nations endured. A director recalls the night his movie premiered in East Germany-the very night the Berlin Wall fell. And a railroad worker recounts the hijacking of a passenger train from Czechoslovakia that breached the Curtain, granting those aboard immediate asylum in the West. These narratives, by turns harrowing and heartening, paint a vivid portrait of the new Europe that emerged from the ruins.

Editorial Reviews

William Hague

"A brilliant book, not only based on an inspired idea, but also written with a keen eye for human hopes, fears, and tragedies."

Financial Times

"Acclaim for Beslan: The Tragedy of School No. 1

"Fine and subtle . . . The book, based on extensive interviews, rouses pity and horror."

Literary Review

"Timothy Phillips . . . has done a heroic and . . . impossible job: He has reconstructed from the testimony of many hundreds of witnesses the hellish events of that September. . . . His work is a fit memorial to the dead."

Foreword

"Remarkable. . . . By turns painful and poignant, Retracing the Iron Curtain is much more than a simple travelogue or history: it is a love letter to human kindness and a plea for decency in the face of indecent, inhumane government oppression. A fascinating, nuanced travel narrative about the history and legacy of Europe’s most infamous border."

The Wall Street Journal

"A Guardian best history and politics book of 2022

"Engrossing. . . . As Mr. Phillips travels alongside a largely vanished barrier, he sees some tangible remnants—a watchtower here, a missile silo there. And he succeeds in conveying the everyday barbarism that did so much to sustain the Iron Curtain. . . . Such stories and the recollections of those he meets produce an excellent depiction, not only of the Iron Curtain but also of key elements in Europe’s Cold War and, for that matter, some of what came next."

The Times

"A poignant journey through the towns, streets and even cemeteries once divided by the Cold War."

Neal Ascherson

"As borders reappear all over Europe, and as war once again begins to smudge the continent’s atlas, Timothy Phillips’s book arrives just when it is needed. This is an account not only of how the Cold War frontiers were drawn, guarded, or penetrated by brave escapers, but—more importantly—of how often they were rendered discreetly porous by all kinds of compromise. He travels equipped with a mass of fascinating prior research, but also with a gift for instant befriending, which brings stories and secrets from everyone he encounters."

Martin Pearce

"Acclaim for The Secret Twenties: British Intelligence, the Russians, and the Jazz Age

"A welcome and fascinating study of a pivotal yet under-explored aspect of history. Using previously unseen files, Phillips illuminates the growing role of espionage as suspicions grew about the threat from the new Soviet state—all set against the glamour of 1920s London. It is an intoxicating combination."

From the Publisher

A Guardian best history and politics book of 2022

“Engrossing. . . . As Mr. Phillips travels alongside a largely vanished barrier, he sees some tangible remnants—a watchtower here, a missile silo there. And he succeeds in conveying the everyday barbarism that did so much to sustain the Iron Curtain. . . . Such stories and the recollections of those he meets produce an excellent depiction, not only of the Iron Curtain but also of key elements in Europe’s Cold War and, for that matter, some of what came next.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Remarkable. . . . By turns painful and poignant, Retracing the Iron Curtain is much more than a simple travelogue or history: it is a love letter to human kindness and a plea for decency in the face of indecent, inhumane government oppression. A fascinating, nuanced travel narrative about the history and legacy of Europe’s most infamous border.”—Foreword

“A poignant journey through the towns, streets and even cemeteries once divided by the Cold War.”—The Times

“As borders reappear all over Europe, and as war once again begins to smudge the continent’s atlas, Timothy Phillips’s book arrives just when it is needed. This is an account not only of how the Cold War frontiers were drawn, guarded, or penetrated by brave escapers, but—more importantly—of how often they were rendered discreetly porous by all kinds of compromise. He travels equipped with a mass of fascinating prior research, but also with a gift for instant befriending, which brings stories and secrets from everyone he encounters.”—Neal Ascherson, journalist and author of Black Sea
 
“A brilliant book, not only based on an inspired idea, but also written with a keen eye for human hopes, fears, and tragedies.”—William Hague, MP, Leader of British Conservative Party

Acclaim for Beslan: The Tragedy of School No. 1
 
“Fine and subtle . . . The book, based on extensive interviews, rouses pity and horror.”—Financial Times
 
“Timothy Phillips . . . has done a heroic and . . . impossible job: He has reconstructed from the testimony of many hundreds of witnesses the hellish events of that September. . . . His work is a fit memorial to the dead.”—Literary Review
 
Acclaim for The Secret Twenties: British Intelligence, the Russians, and the Jazz Age
 
“A welcome and fascinating study of a pivotal yet under-explored aspect of history. Using previously unseen files, Phillips illuminates the growing role of espionage as suspicions grew about the threat from the new Soviet state—all set against the glamour of 1920s London. It is an intoxicating combination.”—Martin Pearce, author of Spymaster

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178366844
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	04/18/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos