Jana Hensel was thirteen on November 9, 1989, the night the Berlin Wall fell. In all the euphoria over German reunification, no one stopped to think what it would mean for Jana and her generation of East Germans. These were the kids of the seventies, who had grown up in the shadow of Communism with all its hokey comforts: the Young Pioneer youth groups, the cheerful Communist propaganda, and the comforting knowledge that they lived in a Germany unblemished by an ugly Nazi past and a callous capitalist future. Suddenly everything was gone. East Germany disappeared, swallowed up by the West, and in its place was everything Jana and her friends had coveted for so long: designer clothes, pop CDs, Hollywood movies, supermarkets, magazines. They snapped up every possible Western product and mannerism. They changed the way they talked, the way they walked, what they read, where they went. They cut off from their parents. They took English lessons, and opened bank accounts. Fifteen years later, they all have the right haircuts and drive the right cars, but who are they? Where are they going? In After the Wall, Jana Hensel tells the story of her confused generation of East Germans, who were forced to abandon their past and feel their way through a foreign landscape to an uncertain future. Now as they look back, they wonder whether the oppressive, yet comforting life of their childhood wasn't so bad after all.

After the Wall offers a probing look at Germany and the Germans today--five decades after the end of World War II and five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall--revealing the most conflicted, powerful, promising, and dangerously divided country in Europe.

A revelatory history of the commemoration of the Berlin Wall and its significance in defining contemporary German national identity.

A "longtime Berliner's ... exploration of the heterogeneous allure of this vibrant city. Delving beneath the obvious answers--Berlin's club scene, bolstered by the lack of a mandatory closing time; the artistic communities that thrive due to the relatively low (for now) cost of living--Schneider takes us on an insider's tour of this rapidly metamorphosing metropolis, where high-class soirees are held at construction sites and enterprising individuals often accomplish more without public funding--assembling a makeshift club on the banks of the Spree River--than Berlin's officials do"--Provided by publisher.

A tour of Germany after reunification provides anecdotes of the West German people, an East German baker, Bavarian yodelers, Stalinist functionaries, and Western capitalists

A landmark global history that makes us rethink how the Cold War ended and our present era was born This book offers a bold new interpretation of the revolutions of 1989, showing how a new world order was forged—without major conflict. Based on extensive archival research, Kristina Spohr attributes this in large measure to determined diplomacy by a handful of international leaders, who engaged in tough but cooperative negotiation to reinvent the institutions of the Cold War. She offers a major reappraisal of George H. W. Bush and innovative assessments of Mikhail Gorbachev and Helmut Kohl, as well as Margaret Thatcher and François Mitterrand. But, she argues, Europe’s transformation must be understood in global context. By contrasting events in Berlin and Moscow with the brutal suppression of the pro-democracy movement in Beijing, the book reveals how Deng Xiaoping pushed through China’s very different Communist reinvention. Here is an authoritative yet highly readable exploration of the crucial hinge years of 1989–1992 and their consequences for today’s world.

"... a hot subject in today's scholarship... and a groundbreaking project of vital significance to the field of cultural studies at both 'western' and 'eastern' geographical locations." -- Elwira Grossman Over the Wall/After the Fall maps a new discourse on the evolution of cultural life in Eastern Europe following the end of communism. Departing from traditional binary views of East/West, the contributors to this volume consider the countries and the peoples of the region on their own terms. Drawing on insights from cultural studies, gender theory, and postcolonial studies, this lively collection addresses gender issues and sexual politics, consumerism, high and popular culture, architecture, media, art, and theater. Among the themes of the essays are the Western pop success of Bulgarian folk choirs, the Czechs' reception of Frank Gehry's unconventional building in the center of Prague, bohemians in Lviv, and cryptographic art installations from Bratislava.

In Uncertain Times considers how policymakers react to dramatic developments on the world stage. Few expected the Berlin Wall to come down in November 1989; no one anticipated the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in September 2001. American foreign policy had to adjust quickly to an international arena that was completely transformed. Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro have assembled an illustrious roster of officials from the George H. W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations—Robert B. Zoellick, Paul Wolfowitz, Eric S. Edelman, Walter B. Slocombe, and Philip Zelikow. These policymakers describe how they went about making strategy for a world fraught with possibility and peril. They offer provocative reinterpretations of the economic strategy advanced by the George H. W. Bush administration, the bureaucratic clashes over policy toward the breakup of the USSR, the creation of the Defense Policy Guidance of 1992, the expansion of NATO, the writing of the National Security Strategy Statement of 2002, and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. A group of eminent scholars address these same topics. Bruce Cumings, John Mueller, Mary Elise Sarotte, Odd Arne Westad, and William C. Wohlforth probe the unstated assumptions, the cultural values, and the psychological makeup of the policymakers. They examine whether opportunities were seized and whether threats were magnified and distorted. They assess whether academicians and independent experts would have done a better job than the policymakers did. Together, policymakers and scholars impel us to rethink how our world has changed and how policy can be improved in the future.

From the New York Times-bestselling creator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend comes the inspiring epilogue to the beloved classic nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. Everyone knows that when Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But what happened after? Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's poignant tale follows Humpty Dumpty, an avid bird watcher whose favorite place to be is high up on the city wall--that is, until after his famous fall. Now terrified of heights, Humpty can longer do many of the things he loves most. Will he summon the courage to face his fear? After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) is a masterful picture book that will remind readers of all ages that Life begins when you get back up. 2018 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Winner A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2017 A New York Times Notable Children's Book of 2017 A New York City Public Library Notable Best Book for Kids A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2017 A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of 2017 An NPR Best Book of 2017

Table of Contents View the Bibliography online Useful links to related sites 9 November 1989. The fall of the Berlin Wall A symbol of the Cold War, its collapse heralded a new era in European history and launched a journey full of immeasurable challenges for the people of east and west Germany. In the ten years that have followed, much has changed in Germany, from the rise of Helmut Kohl as Europe''s leading statesman to the return of the government to Berlin, the city that symbolises the nation''s greatest triumphs and defeats. The Germans first met with scepticism and mistrust abroad as they hurtled towards reunification, then concern as they struggled to adjust to their new state. But they came through the difficult decade as a stable democracy and reliable ally, one that shed the shackles of the post-war period without breaking its bonds to the European Union, NATO and its Western partners. Unchained Eagle is the story of Germany, from events leading up to the unification of east and west to the government''s move to Berlin and Kohl''s disgrace over his illegal slush funds. It looks at the challenges that have faced the nation - defining its military role, integrating eastern Germany, fighting neo-Nazis and establishing a German stamp on the European Union - and assesses how it has met them. It reflects on the concerns and controversies over economic reform, European monetary union, remembering the Holocaust and shaping the new Germany. More importantly, it is the story of a country and its people, the events that have moulded a new European power and the faces that have rewritten history. All this is portrayed with insight and understanding by Tom Heneghan, a long-time observer of German politics. He was in Berlin as the Wall fell and spent the next decade reporting at first hand on the changes that event brought about and the way the Germans - from Helmut Kohl to average citizens - responded to them. Unchained Eagle is an authoritative account of the unification of two countries, the challenges they faced and the new and more confident Germany that emerged from the upheaval. About the Author Tom Heneghan took up his posting as Reuters Chief Correspondent for Germany in the spring of 1989 and was on the spot when the Berlin Wall fell that autumn. Over the next eight years, he travelled around the country covering the events and issues that make this book including following Helmut Kohl on foreign trips as far afield as Moscow, Tokyo and Denver. At the end of the NATO bombing campaign in 1999, he entered Kosovo with the Bundeswehr to report on the first German combat troops deployed abroad since World War Two. Reviews "A fine book rich in information and solid judgement. Tom Heneghan''s description and analysis reflect the reality of post-reunification Germany. The ''Berlin Republic'' is a normal state, with its strengths and its scandals. This book challenges non-German readers to put aside their suspicions and see the country as it is."- Alfred Grosser, French political science professor and author of Germany in Our Time and Deutschland in Europa "Tom Heneghan is a consummate professional, a reporter''s reporter. He writes lucidly and with forensic accuracy, lighting a path through the minefield of contradictions and prejudices that greeted the Germans'' bid to re-unite as a nation and its stormy aftermath... Unchained Eagle is both an accomplished piece of detective work, and a gripping account of the greatest story of our time." - William Horsely, BBC European Affairs Correspondent "Tom Heneghan has succeeded in giving a fair and thorough analysis of an epochal change that has led to a new perception of Germany''s role in the decade since the fall of the Berlin Wall. His first-hand account and brilliant interpretation of events up to Helmut Kohl''s fall from grace contribute to a better understanding of what makes Germany tick today." - Christian M�ller, Neue Z�rcher Zeitung correspondent and author of Helmut Kohl, A Man of His Times and Colonel Stauffenberg - a biography "In the clear, direct style of the foreign journalist and observer, Heneghan demonstrates a differentiated, perceptive view of divided, united and disunited Germany as well as compassion for the emergence of the new Germany - from its ''brooding past'' to its becoming ''a normal country''. - Angelika Volle, Executive Editor, Internationale Politik "Tom Heneghan brings an open mind to the complex and often enigmatic country called Germany... For English-speaking readers, there is no better guide to the politics of Germany in the 1990s." - Joachim Fritz-Vannahme, Europe Correspondent, Die Zeit "Heneghan''s book provides important insights into the origins of the euro and the reasons for its existence. The same applies to the secret accounts scandals which have badly damaged Kohl''s image and prompted embarrassing questions around Europe."- Pilar Bonet, Berlin Correspondent, El Pais "Tom Heneghan has a journalist''s eye for detail and the voice for telling a story. This history book by someone who lived the history is a pleasure to read." - Marjorie Miller, London Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times "...a highly informative and very readable chapter in the history of contemporary Europe. [Heneghan] is uniquely qualified for the task, bringing to his subject just the right balance between familiarity and distance, sympathy and critical judgement." - Michael Mertes, Deputy Editor-in-chief, Rheinischer Merkur