Tunnel 29 cover art

Tunnel 29

Love, Espionage and Betrayal: the True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall

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Tunnel 29

By: Helena Merriman
Narrated by: Helena Merriman
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About this listen

The true story of the most remarkable escape tunnel under the Berlin Wall, from the creator of the acclaimed BBC podcast.

He's just escaped from one of the world's most brutal regimes.

Now, he decides to tunnel back in.

It's summer 1962, and Joachim Rudolph, a student, is digging a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. Waiting on the other side in East Berlin - dozens of men, women and children, all willing to risk everything to escape.

From the award-winning creator of the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 podcast, Tunnel 29 is the true story of the most remarkable escape tunnel dug under the Berlin Wall. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with the survivors and thousands of pages of Stasi documents, Helena Merriman brilliantly reveals the stranger-than-fiction story of the ingenious group of student-diggers, the glamorous red-haired messenger, the American News network which films the escape and the Stasi spy who betrays it. For what Joachim doesn't know, as he burrows closer to East Germany, is that the escape operation has been infiltrated. As the escapees prepare to crawl through the cold, wet darkness, above them, the Stasi are closing in.

Tunnel 29 is about what happens when people lose their freedom - and how some will do anything to win it back.

©2021 Hugely Ltd (P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
20th Century Espionage Germany

Critic Reviews

"A fantastic story, exceedingly well told...more gripping than a thriller. The story arc, through betrayal and disaster to triumph, is perfect...a cracking tale that deserves retelling." (The Times)

"Captivating.... Ms. Merriman’s well-crafted book does justice to the extraordinary bravery of her characters." (Economist)

"This new book...allows readers to slip into Joachim’s shoes as if living this extraordinary experience.... This is a remarkable tale, beautifully told and utterly compelling." (BBC History Magazine)

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brilliant book

read by the author, fast paced, reads like a thriller. chilling and beautiful story xx

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Heartrending and uplifting…and all true

Superb story, brilliantly told and narrated. So many different angles and perspectives through which to view a barbaric moment in post WWII history. The lead characters are beyond heroic, and some are desperately and despicably cowardly. Definitely recommended.

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