Post Wall, Post Square

Kristina Spohr is currently the Helmut Schmidt Distinguished Professor at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC. She also is on the permanent faculty of the International History Department at the London School of Economics (LSE). Spohr is the author of two books and five edited volumes on international affairs, most notably The Global Chancellor and Transcending the Cold War, both published by OUP in 2016, as well as Germany and the Baltic Problem after the Cold War.

WINNER OF DAS POLITIKWISSENSCHAFTLICHE BUCH 2020 FOR THE BEST POLITICAL SCIENCE BOOK PUBLISHED IN GERMANY.

'Kristina Spohr beautifully reconstructs the events of the 1989-92 era, reminding us of the importance of intelligent, responsible political leadership at critical moments of history ... Uses recently declassified material in the British, French, German, Russian and US archives ... She mentions not only those who filled the streets of East Berlin and Prague in peaceful demonstrations, but also brave individuals such as Lech Walesa, the earthy, politically astute electrician from Gdansk, who symbolised Poland's non-violent move to democracy.' Financial Times

'Sweeping panorama ... One of the many strengths of this book is the way Spohr pulls together these stories of befuddled leaders and of the forces they unleashed, wittingly or otherwise, in effect providing a global history ... Post Wall, Post Square is free of jargon and filled with insight on the interplay between individual decisions and larger historical forces. The result is a magisterial account of the momentous events of 1989 and the diplomacy that put in place a new global settlement, with a reunified Germany at the heart of an expanded NATO and an enlarged and deepened European Union.' Times Literary Supplement

'Gripping and compelling' Christopher Andrew, Literary Review

'Reads excellently ... Spohr lets the fundamental ideas of her global history emerge from an abundance of colourful and lively miniatures. It is the monumental painting of an impressionist, always hard on the heels of the historical protagonists. Whoever reads this roams the hallways of power in Beijing and Paris, sits opposite Helmut Kohl and Margaret Thatcher ... The fact that the big picture is never lost is due to the confident structuring of the facts and the stylistic skills of the author.' Freie Presse