In 1961, the world watched as tensions flared and the Berlin Wall went up, trapping East Germans inside a Communist regime. What was less well known was what was happening under that wall. Away from the glare of television cameras and public demonstrations, defectors and West Germans engaged in clandestine efforts to build tunnels and help East Germans escape.
In his book, The Tunnels: Escapes Under the Berlin Wall and the Historic Films that the JFK White House Tried to Kill , Greg Mitchell takes us inside those tunnels and introduces us to the heroes who risked their lives for their families, friends, and even strangers. He also sheds new light on the relationship between President John F. Kennedy and the news media that was desperately trying to capture and show the tunneling efforts.
Greg Mitchell is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Campaign of the Century, which won the Goldsmith Book Prize and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He also has edited several national magazines, including Editor & Publisher, and he blogs actively about media and politics for the Huffington Post , The Nation and other media outlets.
