Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany
An exhaustive — and, at times, exhausting — attempt to restore the lost state to the historic significance she feels it has been denied ... Impressively researched ... Hoyer also draws sharp portraits of the hardened German Communists ... Tepid descriptions are among this important book’s weaknesses ... Hoyer makes a strong case for paying the vanished state its historical due. But her well-told stories of valiant East Germans are a tribute to human resilience under brutal conditions — not a credit to the state itself.
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Contradictions are beautifully captured ... Crafting an expansive and generous history of East Germany, Hoyer brings long-standing academic scholarship to a broader audience ... Apt.
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Enormously refreshing ... As a guide to East Germany’s political history, Hoyer is commendably brisk and judicious. But it’s when she’s discussing the lives of ordinary people that her book really comes alive ... Terrifically colourful, surprising and enjoyable.
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