Leaving Berlin - Joseph Kanon

Leaving Berlin

By Joseph Kanon

  • Release Date: 2015-03-03
  • Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers
4 Score: 4 (From 314 Ratings)

Description

New York Times Notable Book * Named one of NPR and Wall Street Journal's Best Books of the Year *

The acclaimed author of The Good German “deftly captures the ambience” (The New York Times Book Review) of postwar East Berlin in his “thought-provoking, pulse-pounding” (Wall Street Journal) New York Times bestseller—a sweeping spy thriller about a city caught between political idealism and the harsh realities of Soviet occupation.


Berlin, 1948. Almost four years after the war’s end, the city is still in ruins, a physical wasteland and a political symbol about to rupture. In the West, a defiant, blockaded city is barely surviving on airlifted supplies; in the East, the heady early days of political reconstruction are being undermined by the murky compromises of the Cold War. Espionage, like the black market, is a fact of life. Even culture has become a battleground, with German intellectuals being lured back from exile to add credibility to the competing sectors.

Alex Meier, a young Jewish writer, fled the Nazis for America before the war. But the politics of his youth have now put him in the crosshairs of the McCarthy witch-hunts. Faced with deportation and the loss of his family, he makes a desperate bargain with the fledgling CIA: he will earn his way back to America by acting as their agent in his native Berlin. But almost from the start things go fatally wrong. A kidnapping misfires, an East German agent is killed, and Alex finds himself a wanted man. Worse, he discovers his real assignment—to spy on the woman he left behind, the only woman he has ever loved. Changing sides in Berlin is as easy as crossing a sector border. But where do we draw the lines of our moral boundaries? At betrayal? Survival? Murder? Joseph Kanon’s compelling thriller is a love story that brilliantly brings a shadowy period of history vividly to life.

Reviews

  • Highly recommend!

    5
    By Deacon Dukes
    A very well written, historically informative, espionage thriller. Better than LeCarre, and with a bit of hope buried within the bleakness of Germany after WWII. I will read more books by this talented author.
  • Wow!

    5
    By Luceagain
    Loved this book. Great plot and characters! It was a little hard to follow at first with all the different agencies and characters. As I read, it all came together and became a great read. Lots of fun and excitement!
  • Leaving Berlin

    5
    By Madness20
    Excellent. Kanon complexity!
  • Leaving Berlin

    5
    By ADZO50
    I've read all his books. This one, by far, is his best. Classic Kanon.
  • Great read

    5
    By Runvrun
    . Story is gripping and characters well developed and believable. Highly recommend
  • "Leaving Berlin" - A Stunning Book

    5
    By Smiling65
    Such a great read that I read it twice!
  • Leaving Berlin

    5
    By Mogulskier22
    A complex read that's on par with the best spy writers of our generation. It has it all.
  • A tough read

    3
    By Dan Vermilion
    A tough read. Lots of jumping around between the past and the book's present. And many , many characters who are hard to remember. And lots of Berlin locations thAt are confusing. Go slow and write down all the names.
  • Jbj reviews

    5
    By JeffJ 1967
    Terrific. Fast moving page turner. German place names difficult but look them up on Wikapedia. Now I read the others.
  • Leaving Berlin

    5
    By Mstrpara
    Outstanding book. Captured the period of post war Germany perfectly. Best book I have read in past year. Superb plot, believable. Could not put it down--read all night.

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