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The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour |
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Amazon Sales Rank: 12898
Publication Date: 2008-04-17
Publisher: Putnam Adult
ISBN: 0399154965
Type: Hardcover
Number Of Pages: 640
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The masterfully told story of the unlikely men who came together to make the Berlin Airlift one of the great military and humanitarian successes of American history.
On the sixtieth anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, Andrei Cherny tells a remarkable story with profound implications for the world today. In the tradition of the best narrative storytellers, he brings together newly unclassified documents, unpublished letters and diaries, and fresh primary interviews to tell the story of the ill-assorted group of castoffs and second-stringers who not only saved millions of desperate people from a dire threat but changed how the world viewed the United States, and set in motion the chain of events that would ultimately lead to the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and to America’s victory in the Cold War.
On June 24, 1948, intent on furthering its domination of Europe, the Soviet Union cut off all access to West Berlin, prepared to starve the city into submission unless the Americans abandoned it. Soviet forces hugely outnumbered the Allies’, and most of America’s top officials considered the situation hopeless. But not all of them.
Harry Truman, an accidental president, derided by his own party; Lucius Clay, a frustrated general, denied a combat command and relegated to the home front; Bill Tunner, a logistics expert downsized to a desk job in a corner of the Pentagon; James Forrestal, a secretary of defense beginning to mentally unravel; Hal Halvorsen, a lovesick pilot who had served far from the conflict, flying transport missions in the backwater of a global war—together these unlikely men improvised and stumbled their way into a uniquely American combination of military and moral force unprecedented in its time.
This is the forgotten foundation tale of America in the modern world, the story of when Americans learned, for the first time, how to act at the summit of world power—a masterful and exciting work of historical narrative, and one with strong resonance for our time.
Average Rating: 
Review: 2008-10-30
The Candy Bombers
It was so good that I couldn't put it down. I was glad that I knew the ending!
Review: 2008-10-18
A remarkable blend of social and political/military history
Mr. Cheney has that special ability to present detailed history and make it fascinating and compelling. The book is a true page turner. I recommend it to anyone curious about the period just after WWII - or curious about how the US evolved to incorporate foreign aid into its diplomatcy. I must admit that I approached this book with no little amount of dread - it was a "required" selection for our Book Club - but was quickly captivated by Cheney's style; I was sad as I turned the last page. In fact, I have now given several copies as gifts to friends. The book helped me recall a chance meeting 25 years ago on a Zurich-bound plane. I was seated next to an obviously successful and dignified German business man. He told me the great appreciation he felt toward the US because he was a boy in Berlin all during the Airlift. He said he will always remember the reassuring sound and sight of those American planes bringing lifesaving supplies to the Berliners. Cheney's writing is warm, the many reprinted letters from the children of Berlin who received the candy (sent at first on handkerchief parachutes) are to be treasured.
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Amazon List Price: $29.95
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