Our West Berlin

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.

Autorentext
Gerd Nowakowski was born and raised in Berlin. The mechanical engineer was part of the founding generation of the leftwing daily newspaper taz. For many years, he was bureau chief in Bonn when the city was the capital of Germany. After the Wall came down, he was the editor of the Berlin Metro section. At the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel, he headed the editorial department as managing editor.