Four years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany was preparing for war. A series of exercises were conducted simulating an invasion of West Berlin. But what if one of these operations was no drill? In 1985, Border Troop officer Hans Brandt rises to the inner circle of the East German government, where leaders have begun to fear the country’s inevitable collapse. Hans discovers Stasi colonel Karl Scharf’s audacious plan to save the GDR — actually conquer West Berlin. Wanting to prevent a war, Hans moves to stop the invasion. But when Scharf uses a mole hunt to leverage his plan, Hans is drawn into a battle of espionage that will cost him more than he can know.
Although a work of fiction, John Cheney's "City of Spies" reads with an authenticity with respect to Cold War politics and the human condition that is usually the province of political science curriculums. Infused with a deftly plotted story of unexpected twists and dramatic turns, "City of Spies" is a non-stop thriller that is pure entertainment from beginning to end and will make a popular addition to community library collections and personal reading lists.
