But the politics of his youth have now put him in the crosshairs of the McCarthy witch-hunts.

Even culture has become a battleground, with German intellectuals being lured back from exile to add credibility to the competing sectors.Īlex Meier, a young Jewish writer, fled the Nazis for America before the war.

Espionage, like the black market, is a fact of life. In the West, a defiant, blockaded city is barely surviving on airlifted supplies in the East, the heady early days of political reconstruction are being undermined by the murky compromises of the Cold War. Almost four years after the war’s end, the city is still in ruins, a physical wasteland and a political symbol about to rupture. The acclaimed author of The Good German “deftly captures the ambience” ( The New York Times Book Review) of postwar East Berlin in his “thought-provoking, pulse-pounding” ( Wall Street Journal) New York Times bestseller-a sweeping spy thriller about a city caught between political idealism and the harsh realities of Soviet occupation.īerlin, 1948. ‘One of the most exciting books I’ve read in years’ Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No.New York Times Notable Book * Named one of NPR and Wall Street Journal's Best Books of the Year * Falling into the book is like falling into a vice it grips you, pitilessly, until the last page' Richard & Judy Book Club ' Leaving Berlin is hauntingly and beautifully written. ‘An unforgettable picture of a city wrecked by defeat and betrayal. Espionage, like the black market, is still a way of life. Faced with deportation and the loss of his family, Alex makes a desperate bargain with the fledgling CIA: he will earn his way back to America by acting as their agent in his native Berlin.īut almost from the start things go fatally wrong. Now, the politics of his youth have left him embroiled in the McCarthy witch-hunts. Alex Meier is a young Jewish writer who fled the Nazis for America before the war. He is the master of the shadows of the era' The Timesįrom the author of The Good German (made into a film starring George Clooney), Leaving Berlin is a sweeping post-war story and an international bestseller.īerlin is still in ruins almost four years after the war, caught between political idealism and the harsh realities of Soviet occupation. * Don't miss THE ACCOMPLICE, the next heart-pounding and intelligent espionage novel from 'master of the genre' ( The Washington Post), Joseph Kanon *

Leaving berlin by joseph kanon