Anatomy of a Dictatorship: Inside the GDR, 1949-1989

This is a book for those who'd like to get an incredibly detailed account of the history of the German Democratic Republic, from formation to fall, in incredible detail. For some, this may be a bit of a drawback, as it is less of a narrative than a factual accounting of events; the major players, their actions, their impact and the effects on the people who lived there.Backed up by a great deal of research, it's an excellent text to at least get a strong foundational understanding of the structure and operations of one of the more tightly-run communist dictatorships of the 20th Century.

As other reviews point out, this is a very detailed history of the GDR that shows agreat deal of research. The author's writing style needed a good editor, I think, toeliminate some of the long, non-essential "sleep inducing" sentences, such as:"Bearing this wider context in mind, let us proceed to examine in more detail the roleof different domestic political currents in the unfolding story of the demise of the GDR."There are too many sentences of that kind for me - introductory sentences such as "Letus now examine the..." etc. I'm glad that I read the book, though. I borrowed it from thelibrary.

Mary Fulbrook has done an excellent job in succinctly analysing the political system of the GDR, arguing that the former East Germany state is best classified as a "dictatorship". Her writing is easily understood by non-specialists and her compassion and attention to detail heightens the reader's interest in this fascinating subject. The book is excellently researched, with Professor Fulbrook combing the now open East German State and Party archives to present new material alongside her central thesis. Her insightful chapter on the role of the Church is especially welcome, since this subject has long been recognised by German scholars as of central importance, but is too often neglected or misunderstood by non-Germans academics. "Anatomy" is clearly the best book to recently appear on the "first socialist state on German soil".