Title: Very informative book
Review: I chose to read "The Stazi" in preparation for viewing "The Lives of Others". The book gave me the background necessary to understand what went on during that period in East Germany and provided insight into the motivations of the people on both sides of the Berlin Wall.Koehler, who was a journalist during the time these events took place, did a commendable job researching what he did not actually experience himself. Lots of statistics and documentation made reading slow at first but the details he provides relative to how spies on both sides are recruited and what they went through and how they did their job made for fascinating reading.I was amazed at the stupidity of the various organizations, including the US military, in not doing a better job of protecting classified documents. In that regard the book was a real eye opener.
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