Overview

Full Product Details

9780735285866

Table of Contents

Reviews

Mitchell delivers a gripping, blow-by-blow account of one grueling dig and dramatic rescue Mitchell s tense, fascinating account reveals how the U.S. undermined a freedom struggle for the sake of diplomacy. <b> <i>PUBLISHERS WEEKLY</i> (starred review) The author ably captures the dedication of the men and women trying to get family, friends, and complete strangers to freedom A gripping page-turner that thrills like fiction. <b> <b><i>KIRKUS</i></b></b> <i>The Tunnels</i> is one of the great untold stories of the Cold War. Brilliantly researched and told with great flair, Greg Mitchell s non-fiction narrative reads like the best spy thriller, something Le Carre might have imagined. Easily the best book I ve read all year. <b>ALEX KERSHAW</b>, author of <i>Avenue of Spies Every hour of my year in East Berlin 1963/64 the escape tunnels beneath our feet were being dug. This is their story: those who dug them, those who used them and those who betrayed them to the Stasi. Fascinating and it is all true. <i><b> FREDERICK FORSYTH, </b>author of<i><i>The Odessa File</i></i>and<i><i>Day of the Jackal</i></i> Greg Mitchell is the best kind of historian, a true storyteller. <i>The Tunnels</i> is a gripping tale about heroic individuals defying an authoritarian state at a critical moment in the Cold War. A brilliantly told thriller but all true. <b>KAI BIRD</b>, author of <i>The Good Spy</i> This is not just an exciting escape narrative, but also an extraordinarily revealing political thriller, centering on ruthless government attempts to control what the public gets to see.Mitchell presents us with a radically changed perspective on one of the Cold War s most dramatic episodes. His book is both priceless as history and just about impossible to beat for sheer narrative grip a rare achievement. <b>FREDERICK TAYLOR</b>, author of <i>The Berlin Wall </i>and<i> Dresden Eye-opening and an exhilarating read. Not knowing who made it out of the East, and who was arrested, or worse, kept me glued to this book until the last page. The involvement of the Stasi, two American TV networks and America's State Department contribute to the historical perspective of this important work. <b> ANTONIO MENDEZ</b>, co-author of<i> <i>Argo</i></i> When you have read the last page of Greg Mitchell s <i>The Tunnels</i> you will close the book but not until then. <b>ALAN FURST</b>, author of <i>A Hero of France </i>and <i>Night Soldiers</i> Greg Mitchell has written a riveting story focusing on one of the most powerful documentaries ever broadcast on television, NBC s <i>The Tunnel.</i>Those of us who saw it that December night in 1962 have never forgotten the experience.Now Mitchell, an exemplary journalist, goes beyond what the cameras saw, deep into the political dynamics of Cold War Berlin.John Le Carre couldn t have done it better. <b>BILL MOYERS Mitchell excels at describing the idealistic men and women who built the passageways that brought scores of refugees to safety, revealing the wall's symbolic importance and how it endured throughout the Cold War. He provides interviews with many important players who contribute to the fast-paced narrative. <i><b>LIBRARY JOURNAL</b></i> <i>The Tunnels</i> uncovers an unexplored underworld of Cold War intrigue. As nuclear tensions grip Berlin, a whole realm of heroes and villains, of plot and counterplot, unfolds beneath the surface of the city. True historical drama. <b>RON ROSENBAUM</b>, author of <i>Explaining Hitler</i> and <i>The Shakespeare Wars</i> A compelling look at a wrenching chapter of the Cold War that chronicles the desperate flights for freedom beneath the streets of post-war Berlin and the costs that politics extracted in lives. <b>BARRY MEIER</b>, author of <i>Missing Man</i> <i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>

Mitchell delivers a gripping, blow-by-blow account of one grueling dig and dramatic rescue Mitchell s tense, fascinating account reveals how the U.S. undermined a freedom struggle for the sake of diplomacy. <b> <i>PUBLISHERS WEEKLY</i> (starred review) The author ably captures the dedication of the men and women trying to get family, friends, and complete strangers to freedom A gripping page-turner that thrills like fiction. <b> <b><i>KIRKUS</i></b></b> <i>The Tunnels</i> is one of the great untold stories of the Cold War. Brilliantly researched and told with great flair, Greg Mitchell s non-fiction narrative reads like the best spy thriller, something Le Carre might have imagined. Easily the best book I ve read all year. <b>ALEX KERSHAW</b>, author of <i>Avenue of Spies Every hour of my year in East Berlin 1963/64 the escape tunnels beneath our feet were being dug. This is their story: those who dug them, those who used them and those who betrayed them to the Stasi. Fascinating and it is all true. <i><b> FREDERICK FORSYTH, </b>author of<i><i>The Odessa File</i></i>and<i><i>Day of the Jackal</i></i> Greg Mitchell is the best kind of historian, a true storyteller. <i>The Tunnels</i> is a gripping tale about heroic individuals defying an authoritarian state at a critical moment in the Cold War. A brilliantly told thriller but all true. <b>KAI BIRD</b>, author of <i>The Good Spy</i> This is not just an exciting escape narrative, but also an extraordinarily revealing political thriller, centering on ruthless government attempts to control what the public gets to see.Mitchell presents us with a radically changed perspective on one of the Cold War s most dramatic episodes. His book is both priceless as history and just about impossible to beat for sheer narrative grip a rare achievement. <b>FREDERICK TAYLOR</b>, author of <i>The Berlin Wall </i>and<i> Dresden</i> When you have read the last page of Greg Mitchell s <i>The Tunnels</i> you will close the book but not until then. <b>ALAN FURST</b>, author of <i>A Hero of France </i>and <i>Night Soldiers</i> Greg Mitchell has written a riveting story focusing on one of the most powerful documentaries ever broadcast on television, NBC s <i>The Tunnel.</i>Those of us who saw it that December night in 1962 have never forgotten the experience.Now Mitchell, an exemplary journalist, goes beyond what the cameras saw, deep into the political dynamics of Cold War Berlin.John Le Carre couldn t have done it better. <b>BILL MOYERS</b> <i>The Tunnels</i> uncovers an unexplored underworld of Cold War intrigue. As nuclear tensions grip Berlin, a whole realm of heroes and villains, of plot and counterplot, unfolds beneath the surface of the city. True historical drama. <b>RON ROSENBAUM</b>, author of <i>Explaining Hitler</i> and <i>The Shakespeare Wars</i> A compelling look at a wrenching chapter of the Cold War that chronicles the desperate flights for freedom beneath the streets of post-war Berlin and the costs that politics extracted in lives. <b>BARRY MEIER</b>, author of <i>Missing Man</i> <i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>

Shows the trade-off behind the scenes at one of the most pivotal moments in the standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union A fascinating and complex picture of the interplay between politics and media in the Cold War era. <b> <i>WASHINGTON POST </b> Fascinating and deeply researched Mitchell s book provides a welcome reminder of the ingenuity and courage that people can display when politics and walls separate them from loved ones and a better life.But it s also a testament to just how forcefully even ostensibly liberal administrations can suppress the media. <b><i> <b> <i>CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR</i></b> </b> A story with so much inherent drama it sounds far-fetched even for a Hollywood thriller...Mitchell tells a kaleidoscopic cold war story from 1962, recreating a world seemingly on the edge of a third world war. <b> <i>THE GUARDIAN</i></b> Mitchell delivers a gripping, blow-by-blow account of one grueling dig and dramatic rescue Mitchell s tense, fascinating account reveals how the U.S. undermined a freedom struggle for the sake of diplomacy. <b> <i>PUBLISHERS WEEKLY</i> (starred review) The author ably captures the dedication of the men and women trying to get family, friends, and complete strangers to freedom A gripping page-turner that thrills like fiction. <b> <b><i>KIRKUS</i></b></b> <i>The Tunnels</i> is one of the great untold stories of the Cold War. Brilliantly researched and told with great flair, Greg Mitchell s non-fiction narrative reads like the best spy thriller, something Le Carre might have imagined. Easily the best book I ve read all year. <b>ALEX KERSHAW</b>, author of <i>Avenue of Spies Every hour of my year in East Berlin 1963/64 the escape tunnels beneath our feet were being dug. This is their story: those who dug them, those who used them and those who betrayed them to the Stasi. Fascinating and it is all true. <i><b> FREDERICK FORSYTH, </b>author of<i><i>The Odessa File</i></i>and<i><i>Day of the Jackal</i></i> Greg Mitchell is the best kind of historian, a true storyteller. <i>The Tunnels</i> is a gripping tale about heroic individuals defying an authoritarian state at a critical moment in the Cold War. A brilliantly told thriller but all true. <b>KAI BIRD</b>, author of <i>The Good Spy</i> This is not just an exciting escape narrative, but also an extraordinarily revealing political thriller, centering on ruthless government attempts to control what the public gets to see.Mitchell presents us with a radically changed perspective on one of the Cold War s most dramatic episodes. His book is both priceless as history and just about impossible to beat for sheer narrative grip a rare achievement. <b>FREDERICK TAYLOR</b>, author of <i>The Berlin Wall </i>and<i> Dresden Eye-opening and an exhilarating read. Not knowing who made it out of the East, and who was arrested, or worse, kept me glued to this book until the last page. The involvement of the Stasi, two American TV networks and America's State Department contribute to the historical perspective of this important work. <b> ANTONIO MENDEZ</b>, co-author of<i> <i>Argo</i></i> When you have read the last page of Greg Mitchell s <i>The Tunnels</i> you will close the book but not until then. <b>ALAN FURST</b>, author of <i>A Hero of France </i>and <i>Night Soldiers</i> Greg Mitchell has written a riveting story focusing on one of the most powerful documentaries ever broadcast on television, NBC s <i>The Tunnel.</i>Those of us who saw it that December night in 1962 have never forgotten the experience.Now Mitchell, an exemplary journalist, goes beyond what the cameras saw, deep into the political dynamics of Cold War Berlin.John Le Carre couldn t have done it better. <b>BILL MOYERS Mitchell excels at describing the idealistic men and women who built the passageways that brought scores of refugees to safety, revealing the wall's symbolic importance and how it endured throughout the Cold War. He provides interviews with many important players who contribute to the fast-paced narrative. <i><b>LIBRARY JOURNAL</b></i> <i>The Tunnels</i> uncovers an unexplored underworld of Cold War intrigue. As nuclear tensions grip Berlin, a whole realm of heroes and villains, of plot and counterplot, unfolds beneath the surface of the city. True historical drama. <b>RON ROSENBAUM</b>, author of <i>Explaining Hitler</i> and <i>The Shakespeare Wars</i> A compelling look at a wrenching chapter of the Cold War that chronicles the desperate flights for freedom beneath the streets of post-war Berlin and the costs that politics extracted in lives. <b>BARRY MEIER</b>, author of <i>Missing Man</i> <i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>

Author Information

GREG MITCHELL is the author of a dozen books, including The Campaign of the Century, winner of the Goldsmith Book Prize and finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Tricky Dick and the Pink Lady, a New York Times Notable Book; So Wrong for So Long; and, with Robert Jay Lifton, Hiroshima in America and Who Owns Death?. Mitchell has edited several national magazines, including Editor & Publisher, and he blogs actively about media and politics for the Huffington Post and other outlets. He recently coproduced the acclaimed documentary Following the Ninth. He lives in the New York City area.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available