Stasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin WallStasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall
Score Modern
What it's about
In the late 1990s, a few years after the Berlin Wall fell, the Australian writer Anna Funder went to the former East Germany to listen to people who had lived under the Stasi, the secret police that watched millions. She meets Miriam, jailed at sixteen for trying to escape, and Frau Paul, cut off from her sick baby by the Wall, as well as the former Stasi men who still defend what they did.
Why it's worth reading
It won the Samuel Johnson Prize (now the Baillie Gifford Prize). Funder writes with warmth and dark humor, and the true stories of ordinary people under surveillance stay with you.
You'll love it if you liked
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
The Gulag ArchipelagoGood to know
It's personal and anecdotal rather than a full history. Funder is a character in the book as well as its reporter.
By the numbers
- Readers82 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics54 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller10 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #98 of the 198 history books we rank
- #294 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #585 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Dark
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Quick answers
Is Stasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall worth reading?
Yes. It won the Samuel Johnson Prize (now the Baillie Gifford Prize). It ranks #585 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 77.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Stasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall about?
In the late 1990s, a few years after the Berlin Wall fell, the Australian writer Anna Funder went to the former East Germany to listen to people who had lived under the Stasi, the secret police that watched millions. She meets Miriam, jailed at sixteen for trying to escape, and Frau Paul, cut off from her sick baby by the Wall, as well as the former Stasi men who still defend what they did.
How long does it take to read Stasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall?
About 8 hours (304 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Stasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall won?
Baillie Gifford Prize winner (2004).
What should I read after Stasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall?
If you liked it, try Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick, The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre or The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.