Stasiland

In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell; shortly afterwards the two Germanies reunited, and East Germany ceased to exist. In a country where the headquarters of the secret police can become a museum literally overnight, and one in 50 East Germans informed on their countrymen and women, there are a thousand stories just waiting to get out. Anna Funder tells extraordinary tales from the underbelly of the former East Germany — she meets Miriam, who as a 16-year-old might have started World War III, visits the man who painted the line that became the Berlin Wall, and gets drunk with the legendary 'Mik Jegger' of the East, once declared to his face by the authorities to 'no longer exist'. Written with wit and literary flair, Stasiland provides a riveting insight into life behind the Wall.