{"product_id":"the-picnic-paperback-by-matthew-longo-1","title":"The Picnic Paperback by Matthew Longo","description":"\u003cbody\u003e\n                \n                    \n                        \u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n                        \u003cul\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cb\u003eWW Norton\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e(2024-11-05)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003eEnglish\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e320\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003epages\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e9780393540772\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eItem Weight\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e260.82\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003egrams\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e20.83 x 13.97 x 1.91\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003ecm\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                        \u003c\/ul\u003e\n                        \u003cbr\u003e\n                        \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 2024 Orwell Prize for Political Writing\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nOne of \u003ci\u003eSlate\u003c\/i\u003e's Ten Best Books of 2023 • A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice • A \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e Best Nonfiction Book of 2023\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe gripping story of a collective passion for freedom that shook the world.\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on dozens of original interviews—including Hungarian activists and border guards, East German refugees, Stasi secret police, and the last Communist prime minister of Hungary—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 abandoned their homes, risked imprisonment, sacrificed jobs, family, and friends, 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?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCinematically told, \u003ci\u003eThe Picnic\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n                        \u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n                        \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMatthew Longo\u003c\/b\u003e is assistant professor of political science at Leiden University and award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Politics of Borders: Sovereignty, Security, and the Citizen after 9\/11\u003c\/i\u003e. A native New Yorker, he lives in the Netherlands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n                    \n                \n            \u003c\/body\u003e","brand":"Best Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":46553175982241,"sku":"BBSNIJ9780393540772","price":36.28,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/2084\/5473\/files\/9781324086321_bff2d759-120b-42e8-9a72-9f7499bf8c1b.jpg?v=1781728388","url":"https:\/\/www.bestbookstore.ca\/products\/the-picnic-paperback-by-matthew-longo-1","provider":"Best Book Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}