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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 943
EAN num: 9780679740483
ISBN number: 0679740481
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 169
Printing Date: May 01, 1999
Publishing house: Vintage
Release Date: August 31, 1993
Sale Popularity Level: 155634
Studio: Vintage
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Rated by buyers -
An often eye-witness account of the democratic revolutions of 1989 in Poland, Hungary, East Germany and Czechoslovakia.
The writing is a little uneven but it provides an excellent inside account of exceptional historic events. Ash left me with a very strong sense of the contingent and uncertain nature of the revolutions. Miscommunications, errors, spur-of-the-moment statements, all combined to move events forward much, much more quickly than any of the participants expected.
Yet these succeeded in being peaceful revolutions, driven by a deliberate choice by their leaders to take and hold the moral high ground. There was a corresponding inner collapse by the existing authorities, who really had nothing to which they themselves were committed or could fight to defend.
I found this an inspiring tonic after reading Richard Evans' grim "The Third Reich in Power". Ash has left me feeling much more optimistic about human nature!
Rated by buyers 
-
A good snapshot of the mood during 1989 and how events in the four featured countries were connected. Also, thoughtful insights as to how to view this book, especially this edition, which is re-printed many years later. Ash's theory as to what, if any, learnings are to come out of how each government went about their transformation is especially relevant given the status of those same governments today. Not always the easiest read, nor the best on the subject, but a good companion for further investigations.
Rated by buyers -
It was a very informative book, especially considering the author could write it from the point of view that he did. The only major downside, which I will point out is a downside on my part and not his, is that I sometimes would get a little confused when he mentioned too many foreign names.
Nonetheless, it was an excellently written book.
Rated by buyers -
Eberhart - 1
Before the Fall:
A critical analysis of The Magic Lantern a book by Timothy Garton Ash
By: David C. Eberhart II
The Magic Lantern is a based on the events leading up to the fall of the soviet empire as
experienced from a very first hand point of view. The title of the book is taken from a theater in Prague
called "the magic Lantern". This was where the reformers and revolutionaries came together to rid
themselves of the communist regime and to start anew. This is a common theme in this book. That
theme being one n which the reformers and the revolutionists work together with the communists of
old to recreate the old soviet satellite countries. According to Ash this "refolution" (p.14) worked
very well since the powers that be wanted to reform the system from above and the lay people wanted
to reform the system from below. As such changes of power were expected and reform was
implemented. However in each case; Hungary, Prague, Warsaw, and East Germany the unexpected
often cropped up. But the people and the communists worked together to over come these issues. In
effect this refolution and compromise brought about the end of the communist empire and ushered in
a new dawn of free market capitalism.
The book is divided into seven easily read chapters. But the meat and potatoes of the book is
written in the four chapters devoted to the Eastern European states held by the dominant soviet
oppressors. The language is often harsh but one must realize that this book was written shortly after
the communists were removed from power. The old hatreds are still fresh and this hatred is subtly
woven into the chapters. This is done by blaming the communists for most of the problems with the
economy, the stifling of innovation, and the backwardness of these areas. The most obvious of these
references is in the chapter on Berlin. Wall sickness (P. 65) was the name given to the general
malaise of the east Berliners. The fact that they were walled in depressed them and reduced the
Eberhart - 2
people to shadows. Once the wall is removed the people are instantly transformed into glorious
people.
The transformation of an oppressed and tired people into a glorious and productive people is
another common thread in the book. As if by magic the problems of the people disappear when the
communists are no longer in power. This is an odd facet of the book. Since the book also states that
the communists were always in power, even when they were not officially in power. The people may
have voted the communists out but the communists often controlled the military, the police, and the
economy. As such the reformers, the revolutionaries, and the communist party had to swallow their
pride, make compromises, and work together.
It was the right time to do this. Communist Russia was falling apart. Relations between Russia
and the U.S.A. had grown friendly and the Russians could not afford to toe the hard line between it's
satellite nations and mother Russia. So dialogue and compromise was often used to smooth the way
between the satellites and Russia. But this meant that Russia gave up it's last ace in the whole. That
being the truth. Instead of covering up and hiding the truth, the communists came clean. This mean
that when the communists lost the very first free election in Warsaw they did not try and cover it up.
Instead they admitted defeat, validated the new government, and tried to work things out to the best
of everyone's ability. This might not seam so shocking yesterday but in the later part of the 1980's any
compromise with the Communists was unthinkable. Especially when it was the Communists who
helped make the very first moves towards openness.
To complicate matters as Russia and the Soviet Empire was evolving China was on the offensive.
When student demonstrators protested the Communists in Tiananmen Square the Chinese
Communist Party reacted with violence. Tanks, tear gas, bullets, and the combined might of the
Chinese army ruthlessly crushed this act of defiance. This was terrifying. For the most part the
Eberhart - 3
Chinese were viewed as the lesser of the two communists evils. Between Russia and the Chinese the
Chinese were viewed as the nice guys. If China was this desperate and ruthless in keeping control of
her empire ... Read More
Rated by buyers -
I decided to read this after finishing Tina Rosenberg's THE HAUNTED LAND and Slavenka Drakulic's CAFE EUROPA. Both of these books cite THE MAGIC LANTERN, and I see why. Timothy Garton Ash's reportage is personal, immediate, and fascinating. As I write, these events took place more than sixteen years ago, yet the book puts you right there. It's a good, lively introduction to these largely bloodless revolutions and well worth reading. The chapters on Prague and Warsaw are highlights.
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