An epic journey across 5,000 kilometres and through eight decades, to tell a new story about the old Cold War faultlines

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, it seemed that the old divisions between East and West had been consigned to history. But with tensions once again rising, the past has much to tell us about our present.

Here Timothy Phillips undertakes a fascinating journey along the full length of the former Iron Curtain, from the Arctic Circle to Turkey’s eastern border, to meet the people who bore witness to this tumultuous era and those who continue to live in its shadow.

‘A first class analysis of Cold War history’ Sunday Independent

‘[Phillips] visited strange places that very few people have ever heard of but which were vitally important in the east-west divide… Phillips is a good observer… [with] excellent powers of narrative’ Sunday Times

‘Narrated with energy and aplomb… Phillips has a good ear for historical anecdotes and writes with empathy and acuity about the people and places he encounters’ Times Literary Supplement