Nathaniel Flakin (Translation of Bread and Roses)

Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it Verlust und Erwartung: Erinnerungen (German Edition) by Egon Krenz	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The third and final volume of Egon Krenz's autobiography covers his very brief time at the top of the German Democratic Republic, and everything that happened since. In 1989, as protests grew and economic problems accumulated, East Germany's bureaucr ...more
17 hours, 17 min ago · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Verlust und Erwartung by Egon Krenz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Verlust und Erwartung by Egon Krenz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
In this slim volume, Cory Doctorow offers an incisive and pleasantly concise critique of the AI bubble. AI will never do your job, he argues, but an AI salesperson might nonetheless convince your boss to fire you in the belief that AI can do your job ...more
Sep 09, 2026 03:26AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nathaniel Flakin rated a book it was amazing Мой дед Лев Троцкий и его семья (Russian Edition) by Юлия Аксельрод	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This was a new experience for me: the first time I read an entire book in a language I do not know. DeepL is amazing! Julia Sergeevna Axelrod was the granddaughter of Leon Trotsky. She was the daughter of Sergei Sedov, Trotsky's youngest son, who had ...more
Sep 08, 2026 01:12AM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Мой дед Лев Троцкий и его семья by Юлия Аксельрод. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Мой дед Лев Троцкий и его семья by Юлия Аксельрод <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it Lost & Dark Places: Berlin - 33 Vergessene, Verlassene und Unheimliche Orte by Corinna Urbach	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Exploring abandoned places in Berlin is a great way to dig into the many layers of the city's history. I remember an old Prussian military base, for example, that had been taken over by the Soviets — you could still find 1950s issues of Pravda used a ...more
Sep 07, 2026 03:13AM · 1 like · like · see review
Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund by Molly Crabapple (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It has been a real joy to see the remarkable success of Molly Crabapple’s new book on the Bund. I’ve seen some comrades complain about her folksy writing style — she is very open about what she thinks as she tells the story — but I find it far superi ...more
Aug 15, 2026 12:28AM · 3 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Here Where We Live Is Our Country by Molly Crabapple. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Here Where We Live Is Our Country by Molly Crabapple <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it The History of a False Illusion-Memoirs on the Communist Movement in Poland, 1918-1938 by P. Minc	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 15, 2026 12:27AM · like
Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it Mitte auf Augenhöhe: Straßen und Plätze des Berliner Stadtkerns gestern und heute by Benedikt Goebel	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This charming book pairs historical photographs from Berlin’s center with modern shots from the exact same perspective. It’s a masterpiece for obsessive history nerds like me. It’s an incredibly detailed presentation of the fact that Berlin's Old Tow ...more
Aug 09, 2026 01:59AM · like · see review
Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it Gestaltung und Veränderung: Erinnerungen (German Edition) by Egon Krenz	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The second volume of Egon Krenz's three-part autobiography is less interesting than the first. At the end of the previous book, Krenz had just been named head of the Free German Youth (FDJ). He led the youth organization until he was 46 — when he was ...more
Aug 07, 2026 02:38AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Gestaltung und Veränderung by Egon Krenz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Gestaltung und Veränderung by Egon Krenz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it Berlin History Walks: Discovering the city on foot by Jonny Whitlam	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
My fellow tour guide Jonny Whitlam published his first book featuring five historical walks through Berlin. As someone who has attempted to present Berlin’s history through walking tours, in book form, it’s fascinating to see how a friend does it. Th ...more
Aug 06, 2026 03:32AM · 1 like · like · see review
Nathaniel Flakin rated a book liked it Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I originally stumbled across this collection through the short essay “Comrade Laski,” about the Communist Party USA (Marxist–Leninist) in Los Angeles, a small Maoist group whose chairman infamously gambled away the party treasury in Las Vegas. I enjoy ...more
Aug 04, 2026 07:47AM · 1 like · like · see review

Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it

Verlust und Erwartung: Erinnerungen (German Edition)
by Egon Krenz

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The third and final volume of Egon Krenz's autobiography covers his very brief time at the top of the German Democratic Republic, and everything that happened since. In 1989, as protests grew and economic problems accumulated, East Germany's bureaucr The third and final volume of Egon Krenz's autobiography covers his very brief time at the top of the German Democratic Republic, and everything that happened since. In 1989, as protests grew and economic problems accumulated, East Germany's bureaucracy was paralyzed. The Stalinists had demoralized the working class so thoroughly with permanent repression, petty control, and official optimism that they ended up demoralizing themselves.

Krenz details some of the bizarre rituals: The country's biggest newspaper published birthday wishes for every member of the Politburo, and Honecker personally decided how these were placed on the front page, giving readers subtle hints about each leader's current standing. How degrading. Krenz offers self-criticism, but always of the most superficial kind. He notes that the social rights provided by the GDR did not automatically give people a strong identification with the state. But he never for a second considers workers' democracy, in the style of Räte or soviets, as if he had never read a word of Lenin.

The SED had never done anything independently of its Soviet big brother, yet Gorbachev had enough trouble at home and had little interest in defending his East German satellite. So when the times called for decisive action, the bureaucracy let the wave of history wash over it. On the one hand, Honecker tried to mobilize the repressive apparatus — but he was almost 80, terminally ill, and out of touch. On the other hand, Krenz finally moved to push Honecker aside, and he was willing to capitulate in the name of peace.

The ex-guerrillero Till Meyer worked as a left-wing journalist in West Berlin in the 1980s while also spying for the Stasi. In his memoirs, Meyer recalled watching the protests and yelling at his Stasi handlers: "Why don't you just shoot all these counterrevolutionary priests?!?" They responded they couldn't do anything without a green light from Moscow, which was not forthcoming.

Krenz allowed the planned economy to be swept away without resistance, but got little thanks for it: the West German bourgeoisie put him in prison for six years. He has been denied any role in official political life since then, but remains a point of reference for millions of East Germans. Krenz still identifies as a communist, even though his entire autobiography displays a thoroughly bourgeois world view ("men make history," he declares at one point). His main political activity, besides defending the GDR, centers on solidarity with the People's Republic of China.

This book defends some of the accomplishments of the GDR's non-capitalist economy, such as the construction of millions of apartments. "We didn't leave behind any billionaires for posterity, but also no beggars," Krenz writes. But he offers zero reflection on what went wrong and what a future socialist project needs to do differently. ...more

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The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI
by Cory Doctorow (Goodreads Author)

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In this slim volume, Cory Doctorow offers an incisive and pleasantly concise critique of the AI bubble. AI will never do your job, he argues, but an AI salesperson might nonetheless convince your boss to fire you in the belief that AI can do your job ...more

Nathaniel Flakin rated a book it was amazing

Мой дед Лев Троцкий и его семья by Юлия Аксельрод

Мой дед Лев Троцкий и его семья (Russian Edition)
by Юлия Аксельрод

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This was a new experience for me: the first time I read an entire book in a language I do not know. DeepL is amazing!

Julia Sergeevna Axelrod was the granddaughter of Leon Trotsky. She was the daughter of Sergei Sedov, Trotsky's youngest son, who had ...more

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Lost & Dark Places: Berlin - 33 Vergessene, Verlassene und Unheimliche Orte
by Corinna Urbach

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Exploring abandoned places in Berlin is a great way to dig into the many layers of the city's history. I remember an old Prussian military base, for example, that had been taken over by the Soviets — you could still find 1950s issues of Pravda used a ...more

Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it

Here Where We Live Is Our Country by Molly Crabapple

Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund
by Molly Crabapple (Goodreads Author)

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It has been a real joy to see the remarkable success of Molly Crabapple’s new book on the Bund. I’ve seen some comrades complain about her folksy writing style — she is very open about what she thinks as she tells the story — but I find it far superi ...more

Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it

The History of a False Illusion-Memoirs on the Communist Move... by P. Minc

The History of a False Illusion-Memoirs on the Communist Movement in Poland, 1918-1938
by P. Minc

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Mitte auf Augenhöhe: Straßen und Plätze des Berliner Stadtkerns gestern und heute
by Benedikt Goebel

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

This charming book pairs historical photographs from Berlin’s center with modern shots from the exact same perspective. It’s a masterpiece for obsessive history nerds like me. It’s an incredibly detailed presentation of the fact that Berlin's Old Tow ...more

Nathaniel Flakin rated a book really liked it

Gestaltung und Veränderung by Egon Krenz

Gestaltung und Veränderung: Erinnerungen (German Edition)
by Egon Krenz

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The second volume of Egon Krenz's three-part autobiography is less interesting than the first. At the end of the previous book, Krenz had just been named head of the Free German Youth (FDJ). He led the youth organization until he was 46 — when he was The second volume of Egon Krenz's three-part autobiography is less interesting than the first. At the end of the previous book, Krenz had just been named head of the Free German Youth (FDJ). He led the youth organization until he was 46 — when he was almost a grandfather!

This book covers his time in the top leadership of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) under party boss Erich Honecker. In the West, Krenz was increasingly seen as Honecker's "crown prince" and heir apparent, but in his memoirs he details the constant maneuvering among East Germany's top bureaucrats — he often felt sidelined by Günter Mittag or Günther Schabowski. Krenz had studied at a communist university in Moscow for three years, and he was far more deferential to the Soviet leadership than Honecker, who aimed for greater autonomy for the GDR — ironic, because the Soviets had installed Honecker to replace Walter Ulbricht as a more loyal agent.

Krenz's rise coincided with East Germany's most successful period: In the summer of 1973, up to 750,000 people gathered in East Berlin to cheer Angela Davis, who had just been released from prison, and other anti-imperialist fighters at the World Festival of Youth and Students, nicknamed the "Red Woodstock."

He didn't lead a particularly privileged life, however. He lived with his family in a working-class apartment in Köpenick until he was pressured, upon getting promoted to the Politburo, to move into the secret leadership colony in Wandlitz.

In this book, Krenz offers all kinds of self-criticism — he says it was a mistake to deport the singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann, for example, which alienated many GDR intellectuals. He complains that official reports were often deceptive, meaning that leaders had trouble getting reliable information about the moods in the population. Krenz admits that information in the press was always sugar-coated, but the obvious lies only demoralized the working class. The GDR's highly educated population could have understood an open discussion of the country's difficult problems.

But Krenz offers no structural critique of the GDR. He wishes the ruling bureaucrats had been more tolerant, more humble, etc. — but he never seems to have heard of the idea of workers' democracy. Did he never once read Lenin on soviets? His criticism remains totally superficial. He wishes the Stasi had been more honest, but never once wonders if the GDR needed the largest secret service of any country in history.

Krenz reports endlessly on the diplomacy between Ulbricht, Honecker, Brezhnev, Gorbachev, and other Eastern Bloc leaders, as well as the meetings with the West. Astoundingly for a self-described Marxist, Krenz says that politics always comes down to personal relations. Lenin wrote that after a proletarian revolution, bourgeois law will continue to function for a time — and law means nothing without an apparatus of violence to enforce it, so the bourgeois state will continue for a time as well. "A bourgeois state without the bourgeoisie!" I kept thinking of this quote, because Krenz seems like a bourgeois politician through and through. But he was a master of bourgeois politics in a one-party state, so political struggle took place behind the scenes. Even Krenz, at the pinnacle of power, could never be certain who was deciding what. ...more

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Berlin History Walks: Discovering the city on foot
by Jonny Whitlam

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My fellow tour guide Jonny Whitlam published his first book featuring five historical walks through Berlin. As someone who has attempted to present Berlin’s history through walking tours, in book form, it’s fascinating to see how a friend does it. Th ...more

Nathaniel Flakin rated a book liked it

Slouching Towards Bethlehem
by Joan Didion

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I originally stumbled across this collection through the short essay “Comrade Laski,” about the Communist Party USA (Marxist–Leninist) in Los Angeles, a small Maoist group whose chairman infamously gambled away the party treasury in Las Vegas.

I enjoy ...more

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	Bread and Roses: Gender and Class Under Capitalism by Andrea D'Atri, Nathaniel Flakin (Goodreads Author) (Translation) 4.17 avg rating — 208 ratings — published 2013 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Revolutionary Berlin: A Walking Guide 4.18 avg rating — 102 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Martin Monath: A Jewish Resistance Fighter Amongst Nazi Soldiers (Revolutionary Lives) 4.33 avg rating — 27 ratings — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Little Rosa Luxemburg Starts a Big Revolution: A book for little Bolsheviks aged 3 to 6 by Nathaniel Flakin (Goodreads Author), Motow Motow (Illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Die kleine Rosa Luxemburg beginnt eine große Revolution: Für kleine Bolschewiki im Alter von 3 bis 6 Jahren by Nathaniel Flakin (Goodreads Author), Motow Motow (Illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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