The File

Timothy Garton Ash occupies an important place beside the late Tony Judt on a pedestal of contemporary European historians who write using clear, accessible prose. That, of course, is not t0 slight their analysis - because in both cases, the analysis is first-rate.

This point was brought home over the past few weeks as I plowed through Garton Ash's The File. Wow, talk about a great book. Conceived as a sort of 'personal history,' Garton Ash charts his return to what was once East Germany, where he sets out to research...himself. That is: the version of himself revealed through his secret (and until recently classified) Stasi files.

I must say, I was deeply affected by the humanity and clairvoyance of Garton Ash's reflections. In this sense, my response was reminiscent of the feelings I experienced after watching The Lives of Others - which, rather like The File, evokes a perverse, incongruous mixture of profanity, absurdity, and, not least, horror.