Bruce Springsteen: Rocking the Wall

Rocking the Wall explores how the epic Bruce Springsteen concert in East Berlin on July 19, 1988, changed the world. Erik Kirschbaum spoke to scores of fans and concert organizers including Jon Landau, Springsteen‘s long-time manager. With lively behind-the-scenes details from eyewitness accounts, newspaper clippings, and even Stasi files, this book takes you to an unforgettable journey with Springsteen through the divided city, to the open air concert grounds in Weissensee, where The Boss, live on stage, delivered a courageous speech against the Wall to a record-breaking crowd of more than 300,000 delirious young East Germans full of joy and hope. Rocking the Wall ist dem legendären Bruce-Springsteen-Konzert in Ost-Berlin am 19. Juli 1988 gewidmet, das die Mauer erschütterte und die Welt veränderte. Erik Kirschbaum sprach mit Dutzenden von Fans und mit Veranstaltern in Ost und West, darunter Jon Landau, Springsteens Manager und Freund. Er schildert Szenen hinter den Kulissen und Erinnerungen von Leuten, die dabei waren, er hat Presse und Fernseh-Aufzeichnungen ausgewertet und sogar die Berichte der Stasi, die das Konzert im Auge hatte. Das Buch begleitet den Leser auf eine unvergessliche Reise mit Springsteen durch die geteilte Stadt bis zum dem Open-Air-Gelände in Berlin-Weißensee, wo der Boss, auf der Bühne, eine mutige Rede gegen die Mauer hielt, während ihm eine alle Rekorde brechende Zuschauermenge von mehr als 300.000 begeisterten jungen Ostdeutschen zujubelte. Inside this book is as clear a statement of the power of this music as anyone, ever, has come up with.” —Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone music critic "An illuminating and impressively detailed examination of a frequently overlooked moment in the nexus of rock music and political liberation. I learned a great deal and enjoyed doing so." —Eric Alterman, author of It Ain’t No Sin to Be Glad You’re Alive: The Promise of Bruce Springsteen "It was cultural forces, not merely political or military ones, that won the Cold War for the West, and which may yet spring more oppressive regimes from the tyranny of the old and joyless. Young East Germans wanted their rock and roll; —Tris McCall, The Star Ledger, New Jersey "...a glorious example of the influence that rock ‘n’ roll can have on people who are hungry and ready for change." —Michelle Martin for The Washington Post Kirschbaum is convinced it was the most politically important rock concert ever held. His book makes a strong case that historians should explore Springsteen‘s impact in fuelling the revolution. David Crossland, Der SPIEGEL, Germany Springsteen is still with us. The regime of the German Democratic Republic is not. Stephen Evans, the BBC In telling the back story of how the concert came to be, “Rocking the Wall” also offers a fascinating historical snapshot of East German Communist cultural officials scrambling to contain the brewing political restlessness all around them. Vanessa Fuhrmanns, The Wall Street Journal "Once in a while you play a place, you play a show that ends up staying inside of you, living with you for the rest of your life," he said. "East Berlin in 1988 was certainly one of them." Kate Connolly, The Guardian "What was intended by East Berlin’s hard-line leadership as a pacifier for their people, Kirschbaum argues, had the opposite effect and turned into a powerful agent for change." Derek Scally, The Irish Times "It was like a brief embrace with the Statue of Liberty." "Global Post