The Picnic (Paperback)
Language: English
Published by WW Norton & Co, New York, 2024
- Softcover
- New

Seller: AussieBookSeller, Truganina, VIC, AustraliaAussieBookSeller
AbeBooks seller since June 22, 2007
Condition: New
£ 35.45
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Paperback. In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists organized a picnic on the border of Hungary and Austria. But this was not an ordinary picnicit was located on the dangerous militarized frontier known as the Iron Curtain. Tacit permission from the highest state authorities could be revoked at any moment. On wisps of rumor, thousands of East German vacationers packed Hungarian campgrounds, awaiting an opportunity, fearing prison, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents. The Pan-European Picnic set the stage for the greatest border breach in Cold War history: hundreds crossed from the Communist East to the longed-for freedom of the West.Drawing on dozens of original interviewsincluding Hungarian activists and border guards, East German refugees, Stasi secret police, and the last Communist prime minister of HungaryMatthew Longo tells a gripping and revelatory tale of the unraveling of the Iron Curtain and the birth of a new world order. Just a few months after the Picnic, the Berlin Wall fell, and the freedom for which the activists and refugees had abandoned their homes, risked imprisonment, sacrificed jobs, family, and friends, was suddenly available to everyone. But were they really free? And why, three decades since the Iron Curtain was torn down, have so many sought once again to build walls?Cinematically told, The Picnic recovers a time when it seemed possible for the world to change. With insight and panache, Longo explores the opportunities takenand the opportunities we failed to takein that pivotal moment. A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and Slate "A terrific work of history." --Dan Kois, Slate "A vivid, fast-paced narrative." --Andrew Meier, New York Times Book Review The gripping story of a collective passion for freedom that shook the world. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.…
Seller Inventory # 9781324086321
- Title
- The Picnic (Paperback)
- Author
- Matthew Longo
- Publisher
- WW Norton & Co, New York
- Publication year
- 2024
- Condition
- new
- Binding
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1324086327
- ISBN 13
- 9781324086321
In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists organized a picnic on the border of Hungary and Austria. But this was not an ordinary picnic--it was located on the dangerous militarized frontier known as the Iron Curtain. Tacit permission from the highest state authorities could be revoked at any moment. On wisps of rumor, thousands of East German "vacationers" packed Hungarian campgrounds, awaiting an opportunity, fearing prison, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents. The Pan-European Picnic set the stage for the greatest border breach in Cold War history: hundreds crossed from the Communist East to the longed-for freedom of the West.
Drawing on dozens of original interviews--including Hungarian activists and border guards, East German refugees, Stasi secret police, and the last Communist prime minister of Hungary--Matthew Longo tells a gripping and revelatory tale of the unraveling of the Iron Curtain and the birth of a new world order. Just a few months after the Picnic, the Berlin Wall fell, and the freedom for which the activists and refugees had abandoned their homes, risked imprisonment, sacrificed jobs, family, and friends, was suddenly available to everyone. But were they really free? And why, three decades since the Iron Curtain was torn down, have so many sought once again to build walls?
Cinematically told, The Picnic recovers a time when it seemed possible for the world to change. With insight and panache, Longo explores the opportunities taken--and the opportunities we failed to take--in that pivotal moment.
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AussieBookSeller
Truganina, VIC, Australia
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