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The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain Audiobook, by Matthew Longo Play Audiobook Sample

The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain Audiobook

The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain Audiobook, by Matthew Longo Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Tom Parks Publisher: Highbridge Audio Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 6.83 hours at 1.5x Speed 5.13 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: November 2023 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781696613057

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

31

Longest Chapter Length:

32:55 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

07:34 minutes

Average Chapter Length:

19:54 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

1

Publisher Description

In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists organized a picnic on the border of Hungary and Austria. But this was not an ordinary picnic—it was located on the dangerous militarized frontier known as the Iron Curtain. Tacit permission from the highest state authorities could be revoked at any moment. On wisps of rumor, thousands of East German "vacationers" packed Hungarian campgrounds, awaiting an opportunity, fearing prison, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents. The Pan-European Picnic set the stage for the greatest border breach in Cold War history: hundreds crossed from the Communist East to the longed-for freedom of the West.

Drawing on dozens of original interviews, Matthew Longo tells a gripping and revelatory tale of the unraveling of the Iron Curtain and the birth of a new world order. Just a few months after the Picnic, the Berlin Wall fell, and the freedom for which the activists and refugees had risked imprisonment was suddenly available to everyone. But were they really free? And why, three decades since the Iron Curtain was torn down, have so many sought once again to build walls?

Cinematically told, The Picnic recovers a time when it seemed possible for the world to change. With insight and panache, Longo explores the opportunities taken—and the opportunities we failed to take—in that pivotal moment.

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About Tom Parks

Tom Parks is an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator who has also been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He has been involved in recording audiobooks and voice-overs for over thirty years and through an eclectic range of projects. In addition to performing and directing, he is also an active musician, drumming in musical theater productions in the Midwest, and is in demand as a conference speaker.