The Picnic : An Escape to Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain

*WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2024*

A gripping reconstruction of the daring escape to freedom of hundreds of East Germans in the summer of 1989 and how it led to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

'A pivotal and exhilarating moment in 20th century history. . . gripping' Observer
'Intensely moving' Sunday Times
'Engrossing and dramatic' William Boyd, New Statesman

In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists did the unthinkable: they entered the forbidden militarised zone of the Iron Curtain - and held a picnic. On wisps of rumour, thousands of East German 'holiday-makers' had made their way to the border, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents. The stage was set for the greatest border breach in Cold War history. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Soviet Union - the so-called end of history - all would flow from what happened next. Drawing on dozens of original interviews with those involved, Matthew Longo reconstructs this world-shaping event and its tumultuous aftermath.

'Evoke[s] the dramatic events in vivid colour . . . fascinating' Katja Hoyer, Telegraph *****

Captivating . . . a vivid, fast-paced narrative New York Times

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL WRITERS ASSOCIATION NON-FICTION CROWN
*A GUARDIAN BIGGEST FICTION AND NON-FICTION FOR 2024
*A WATERSTONES 'BOOK YOU NEED TO READ IN 2024'
*A FOYLES TOP TEN READ FOR JANUARY 2024
* A TORTOISE MEDIA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024