'This book helps us fill an important gap in our understanding of both the GDR and the Soviet bloc as a whole.' - Professor Christopher Andrew, Daily Telegraph
'Childs and Popplewell give...a fine overview... well-written and enjoyable.' - Jeffrey Kopstein, Europe-Asia Studies ,University of Glasgow
'The first book in English based largely on revelations from this astonishing archive...[It] helps us fill an important gap in our understanding of both the GDR and the Soviet bloc as a whole.' - Chris Andrew, The Daily Telegraph
'A valuable work...based on detailed research, some of it in previously secret archives, and personal experience of the German communist state.' - Peter Johnson, former BBC/Reuters correspondent, East Berlin/Moscow, British-German Review