Potsdam Station Paperback – 11 Jan. 2011

Brilliant story full of twists and turnsCan’t wait to get the next book in the seriesOn the edge

Having read the previous three 'station' novels by this author, I'm not disappointed by this one. It provides a vivid description of the hell that was Berlin in the last days before it fell to the Red Army. That said, it has too much detail about the difficulties experienced by the characters in travelling around Berlin when all l wanted to know was what happened next. I enjoyed how the adventures of the main characters were interwoven, although the ending was somewhat contrived and predictable. All in all it's a good read but overly long.

I was delighted to discover the fourth episode of the Station series, which if at all possible must be read in their correct sequence. We last saw John Russell as he fled from Nazi Germany shortly after America's entry into the war, leaving his longtime companion Effi and his son Paul to face an uncertain future.Now we fast forward to the final weeks of the European war, with German forces on the retreat and the Red Army closing in on Berlin. While one or two coincidences may stretch credibility slightly, Downing does a great job of bring his three main protagonists back into play and the plot devices which he employs fall well within the acceptable definition of poetic licence.In any case, his riveting description of Berlin in the final days of the Nazi era more than excuse whatever minor shortcomings the storyline may hold. We don't need to be history buffs to know that - for whatever reason - the Nazi hierarchy refused to give in until the very end, but as we read this book we perhaps understand better than ever what an idiotic, criminal and futile show of resistance it amounted to. Downing's decsription of life in the battered capital of a totalitarian regime in its death throes is evocative, touching, and troubling. It is well written, and very hard to put down. One could hope for more to come except that the timing of "Potsdam Station" suggests that the Russell saga may have reached a conclusion.

The book was exactly as described, well packed and punctually delivered. Can’t ask for more.

these tales are well researched and flow but always end with an abrupt finish.There is a theme running through them, but they are not in the same category as the late Philip Kerr.

Having just gotten back from a trip to Berlin I was kindof intrigued by the city. It's a city that carries guilt as its attraction - bit wierd eh?David Downing's books have done nothing to refute my feelings about Berlin. They have re-inforced them. I read all four books in the space of two weeks and every one I just couldn't put down until I'd finished it.Berlin IS a guilty city and Downing captures that guilt but at the same time humanises it. He puts real people in places against the backdrop of Nazi Germany and gives everyone their role in a non-judgemental fashion. There's good Nazis, nasty Jews, local Communists with hearts and Red Russian invaders who pale at ultimatums.The historical background is absolutely spot-on - small details such as towards the end of the war the Minstry of Propoganda still found fuel for their deliveries whilst the tanks defending the city had none.But it is the humans that Downing captures. This is a love story and with all the adventure, gore and glory, that you could expect from the most thrilling of thriller-writers. Not just love between the two main protagonists but a lot of love elsewhere - I use the word "love" unsparingly.Read them in order, start with "Zoo", and enjoy - maybe there's a happy ending, maybe not - Hey: that's love ;)

By book 4 we've rather lost our way. We're nearing the end of the war, the hardships and terrors of mundane everyday life are wonderfully evoked. But there's not much of a story here other than the three main characters are variously making their ways back to Berlin. John, from Moscow, somehow working for the Soviets again. Effi, his girlfriend, still in disguise as as an older woman now with an adopted Jewish daughter has cast herself as a refugee. Paul, his son, is a German soldier retreating from the Eastern front. And that's about it. Really.

I greatly enjoyed the three previous *Station* novels and ordered this early. I was a little disconcerted to read that the action has skipped across some three years, and that this installment brings together all the key protagonists as the Reich contracts to its core, Berlin.This must have been a challenge to write. Downing has to orchestrate his characters, bringing Russell back from the US and his son back from Russia. The latter is simple--he retreats; the former is more complex and while plausible, it ratchets up the plot to a higher level of physical action than the series has seen before.I thought I had seen and read enough about Berlin in 1945 to get a sense of time and place, but this account takes the challenge of survival to a whole new level. The noise, smells and sights are piled on, almost to breaking point--as indeed they were for the German population, waiting either to vanquish their enemies at the last moment, or instead to die.By the last third of the book, I was virtually unable to read ahead or put the book down--the tension was almost too much. It seemed impossible that the characters could survive the SS, the Red Army or the USAF bombs (and of course in reality many did not]. As the Thousand Year Reich shrank to a city, then a few districts, the characters are aligned, find each other, lose each other and .....well, you need to read it yourself!I can't say this was a fun summer read. It stepped well beyond the minimal action of Alan Furst and Phillip Kerr and offered up a true inferno of intense experience. It would be a shame if David Downing now abandoned these people after investing so much in them; just as Bernard Gunther has become more interesting after 1945, I hope we get to see what happens to this cast in the post-war world.

Potsdam Station is not the best of the John Russell series, but it's still pretty damn good. As with the first three books in the series, the characters are fascinating and pretty well drawn - no stick figures among the lead characters. (Some of the Nazis and Soviets are close to being caricatures, but it works, and they are incidental figures anyway.) The plot, while inordinately complicated and too full of street names and landmarks, is gripping, and the atmosphere - the fall of Berlin -- is fascinating (like watching a train wreck, if you will).The plot complications and the gazillions of characters who make appearances and then disappear until hundreds of pages later (or, in some cases, the next book in the series) make this volume a bit less wonderful than its predecessors, but it's still a great read. Enjoy!

London was heavily bombed but Londoners leaving shelter did not fear arrest by leather coated secret service and the King and .queen see an example of stoic behaviour that was an inspiration to not only Londoners but the world.

one of the best series I've read

die david downing serie von berliner bahnhöfen ist ein MUSS für geschichtlich interessiert, die erfahren wollen, wie es sich für regimegegner unter den nazis lebte. berlinkenner sind doppelt dankbar so realistisch die zeit des nationalsozialismus in berlin erleben zu dürfen.

前作1941冬に米国旅券の英国人ジョン・ラッセルは米国紙の特派員として独ソ両方に脅かされながらベルリンで愛人エフィと暮らしていたが、ついにゲシュタポにソ連のスパイとして手配され、命からがらソ連に逃げ出した。今作では３年たった1945年春ラッセルはモスクワに入り、一方ベルリンは連日の英国空軍による爆撃で崩壊状態だった。ラッセルは残したエフィとポールを救おうと原爆研究所急襲の赤軍チームに道案内役で入りドイツにパラシュート降下する。18歳のポールは少年兵として機銃座についており、前作までなにかと顔を出していた母親イルゼは前の年に自動車事故で死んでいた。エフィはユダヤ人たちに混じって逃げ回っていた。降下した仲間がつぎつぎ死ぬなか、ラッセルはエフィ、ポール、そして義弟のトーマスに巡り合え、赤軍相手に彼らを無事戦火から助け出す工夫を凝らす。４月６日から５月２日までのひと月を日記的に追うという濃密な内容で戦時下のドイツ市民を浮き彫りとした映画さながらの活劇が繰り広げらるが、そのため第１作から３作にみられる時代を大きく俯瞰するスタイルは薄れている。それでも思わず引き込まれてしまい、次作を待つ気になる。