History Book Review/Analysis

Modern-day historian and journalist Timothy Garton Ash finds himself caught up in the web of political espionage . In his book , The Personal History , he exemplifies himself as a specimen of political scrutiny upon discovering that East German 's Stasi secret police is keeping a on him , part of the government 's terrorist identification process . Garton Ash validates "I am but a window , a sample , a means to an end , the object in this experiment (1998 ,

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With the uncovered , it becomes evidence in comparison to his own notes and a mirror

to his memories on how he has truly lived as a student and a journalist as well . Even though Stasi surveillance did not ruin his life , he is disappointed and has lost faith at those people who betrayed him . In his inquisition of the truth , he instead finds out that these people were pressured by the Stasi police to talk and cooperate with them as informers . Garton Ash confirms "You must imagine conversations like this taking place every evening , in kitchens and sitting rooms all over Germany . Painful encounters , truth-telling friendship-demolishing , life-haunting (1998 ,

. 117

But other than that , the book also becomes a significant contribution to understanding the implications and relevance of the Communist state 's security and intelligence dynamics through East Germany 's enforcement of keeping personal s of individuals who may be suspected as spies to their country . Aside from that , this book serves as a document of reflection for the procedure of de-classification that was done by the German government , which may be seen by many as a process of betrayal - wives being betrayed by husbands , brothers against brothers , and so forth . Does this procedure really serve its purpose or is it a clear violation of human rights ? One thing he knows "These s change lives (Garton Ash , 1998 ,

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He also attests in his book that "No democracy in modern history has done more to expose the legacy of the preceding dictatorship than the new Germany has (Garton Ash , 1998 ,

. 21 . Definitely , he believes that such comprehensive procedure with an overwhelming number of secret records and huge annual resources allocated can only be carried out by Germans

The book engages the readers into the life of the writer as a subject of investigation and tackles a whole lot more of issues about human weakness in the line of fire . But above all , The is a courageous attempt to reveal an important period in the history of Communism . And good thing , Garton Ash has been successful about it

References

Garton Ash , T (1998 . The : a personal history . New York : Vintage Books

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The : A Personal History ...