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SYKES, HERBIE: : THE RACE AGAINST THE STASI - THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF DIETER WIEDEMANN,THE IRON CURTAIN AND THE GREATEST CYCLING RACE ON EARTH

LONDON.AURUM PRESS LTD.,2014.

ISBN 9781781313084.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE+/FINE+.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright, crisp,clean,matt colour (red+tan bands) background with monochrome montage'd superimposed photographs and glossy b/w lettering to front panel of dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight, clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright, crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp, blocked silver gilt letters and similar silver gilt cyclist's silhouette to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain red endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj, 1st edn,ix-xvpp+1-399pp [paginated] includes an epigraph,notes on the text,5 sectors,24pp contemporary monochrome (the majority) and colour auto+biographical photographs in 1 block between pp192/3, b/w facsimile reproduction of documents etc. interspersed throughout the text and the book,a selected bibliography and acknowledgements; plus [unpaginated] half-title with author's other available works to it's reverse,title page,a dedication,and contents list/table. When the 'Iron Curtain' descended across Europe,Dieter Wiedemann was a hero of East German sport.A podium finisher in The Peace Race,the Eastern Bloc equivalent of the Tour de France,he was a pin-up for the supremacy of socialism over the 'fascist' West. Unbeknown to the authorities,however,he had fallen in love with Sylvia Hermann,a girl from the other side of the wall.Socialist doctrine had it that the two of them were 'class enemies',and as a famous athlete Dieter's every move was pored over by the Stasi.Only,he abhorred their ideology,and in Sylvia saw his chance of freedom.Now,playing a deadly game of cat and mouse,he plotted his escape. In 1964,he was delegated to West Germany. here he was to ride a qualification race for the Tokyo Olympics,but instead,committed the most treacherous of crimes against socialism.Dieter Wiedemann,sporting icon and Soviet pawn, defected. While Wiedemann fulfilled his lifetime ambition of racing in the Tour de France,his defection caused a huge scandal.The Stasi sought to 'repatriate' him,with horrific consequences both for Dieter and the family he had left behind. Fifty years on,and twenty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall,Dieter Wiedemann decided it was time to tell his story.Through his testimony and that of others involved,and through the Stasi file,which has stalked Wiedemann for half a century,Herbie Sykes uncovers an astonishing tale.It is one of love and betrayal,of the madness at the heart of the Cold War,and of the greatest bike race in history. Please contact seller,because of the weight - just under 1Kg unpackaged - and the value of this item for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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