{"product_id":"burning-down-the-haus-1","title":"Burning Down the Haus","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY  \u003ci\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/i\u003e * \u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e * Amazon *  Rough Trade\u003cbr\u003e Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “[A] riveting and inspiring history of punk’s hard-fought struggle in East Germany.” —\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A thrilling and essential social history that details the rebellious youth movement that helped change the world.” —\u003ci\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Original and inspiring . . . Mr. Mohr has writ­ten an im­por­tant work of Cold War cul­tural his­tory.”\u003c\/b\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Wildly entertaining . . . A thrilling tale . . . A joy in the way it brings back punk’s fury and high stakes.”\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eVogue\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It began with a handful of East Berlin teens who heard the Sex Pistols on a British military radio broadcast to troops in West Berlin, and it ended with the collapse of the East German dictatorship. Punk rock was a life-changing discovery. The buzz-saw guitars, the messed-up clothing and hair, the rejection of society and the DIY approach to building a new one: in their gray surroundings, where everyone’s future was preordained by some communist apparatchik, punk represented a revolutionary philosophy—quite literally, as it turned out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But as these young kids tried to form bands and became more visible, security forces—including the dreaded secret police, the Stasi—targeted them. They were spied on by friends and even members of their own families; they were expelled from schools and fired from jobs; they were beaten by police and imprisoned. Instead of conforming, the punks fought back, playing an indispensable role in the underground movements that helped bring down the Berlin Wall.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This secret history of East German punk rock is not just about the music; it is a story of extraordinary bravery in the face of one of the most oppressive regimes in history. Rollicking, cinematic, deeply researched, highly readable, and thrillingly topical, \u003ci\u003eBurning Down the Haus\u003c\/i\u003e brings to life the young men and women who successfully fought authoritarianism three chords at a time—and is a fiery testament to the irrepressible spirit of revolution.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Algonquin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42081775517874,"sku":"9781616209797","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0536\/7418\/0786\/files\/O_dbde2e42-702a-420f-8359-f774379d7bfb.jpg?v=1776139874","url":"https:\/\/shop.hachettebookgroup.com\/products\/burning-down-the-haus-1","provider":"Hachette Book Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}