Our West Berlin. Storybook From The Island
Our West Berlin
Our West Berlin
Storybook from the Island
Various authors from Berlin
Translator:
Cindy Opitz, Carolyn Steinberg
Editor: Lia Rockey
Genre: Literary nonfiction
Softcover; 240 pp. / 80 pics
Dimension: 6’’ x 9’’
Suggested retail: $ 22.95
ISBN USA: 978-1-935902-54-6
ISBN BN.com: 978-3-960260-68-4
ISBN Germany: 978-3-96026-067-7
Release: December 2023
About the Book
Our West Berlin! The beloved urban island where bars and pubs were open all night so the locals could plot the revolution! Where beer was cheap and sausage on a roll was considered dinner. Where the tenements still bore bullet holes from World War II, and the draft did not exist. Where the city government regularly stumbled over some real estate scandal and where the Communist-controlled S-Bahn train did not run (mostly). Where old-timers, Turkish immigrants, and students from West Germany lived side by side without much talking to each other, where winter smelled like coal, and summer smelled like weed. This book is devoted to this half-city, surrounded by the Wall, which ceased to exist in 1989. Two dozen authors who are, or were living in Berlin have contributed stories, from JFK touring Checkpoint Charlie to squatters at the Wall. It is a book for those who remember, and for those who wish they did.
The Authors
The Authors
Stories by Andreas Austilat, Bernd Matthies, Erkan Arikan, Eva C. Schweitzer, Frank Noack, Gerd Nowakowski, Gretchen Dutschke, Harald Jähner, Harald Martenstein, Ingo Lamberty, Kerstin Schilling, Martina Schrey, Mary Pepchinski, Paul F. Duwe, Paul Hockenos, Ralph Blumenthal, Rosa von Praunheim, Sharona Legner-Zuriel, Tanja Dückers, Ulli Kulke, Uwe Rada, Wladimir Kaminer and The Südost-Express.
The cover was drawn by Gerhard Seyfried (above). The artist, author and historian, born in Munich, has lived in Berlin since 1976. He has published fifteen comic books, plus countless cartoons and posters shown in numerous exhibitions.
