The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour

The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour | Andrei Cherny | A positive bit of history

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The Candy Bombers:...

	The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour Andrei Cherny Putnam Adult, 2008 - 640 pages average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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 In the tradition of the best narrative storytellers, he brings together newly unclassified documents, unpublished letters and diaries, and fresh primary interviews to tell the story of the ill-assorted group of castoffs and second-stringers who not only saved millions of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.

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An Uplifting Example and Amazing Story

Reading this book is an emotional and stirring event on many different levels. It offers one of the clearest and most succient histories of the period just after the Second World War. The book also does an excellent job of providing balance between the outsized personalities who helped shape the airlift and the amazing achievement that the airlife in itself was.

One of the most touching aspects however is the human aspect of the story. Besides telling the story of the candy bomber which has already been told many times before, the book gives a great history of how the German people were shown the light and turned their backs on a totalitarian form of government towards one that the democracy that exists today.

All in all this is an epic read from an epic time. The subtitle captures it best when it says that it was America's finest hour.

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A positive bit of history

I began reading this book because my husband (Lt. Ben Knight) flew one of the first missions over the corridor into Berlin in 1948, probably before the official airlift began. I hoped to learn more about his activity during this time. What I learned was how close we came to losing Berlin and so much more, but for the efforts of a caring pilot.
It was a pleasure to meet the author and to hear that Hal Halvorsen is still a great hero to the German people.
It was a hard book to put down and I shall read it again.

My Candy Bombers Book Review

I am a Korean War veteran and somewhat of a history buff, especially during the period leading up to and including the aftermath of World War II. I cannot praise this book enough. Andrei Cherney has written the absolutely best description I have read of the events and people that resulted in the Berlin Airlift and how close we came to World War III at that time. Of special interest to me is the way he describes our great military leaders of that time, especially Generals Clay, Bedell Smith, Curtis LeMay, Marshall, Tunner and Omar Bradley, along with Secretary Forrestal, Thomas Dewey, John Foster Dulles and President Truman. With the exception of President Truman I have formed through Mr. Cherney's eyes a completely different opinion of these great men, somewhat less stellar giants than I previously supposed them to be.

This book is an extaordinary effort on the part of the author and may very well be the most interesting book I have ever read.

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The Candy Bombers: the untold story of the Berlin Arilift and America's Finest Four

A book that I could not put down! Why? Simply wanted to know who und what will be next to help a downed nation to stay alive with an "enemy" on each side. All in all it shows as well that politicians are only people with faults and their own agendas. Too bad. The outcome was heroic but only because of the "little man" who did the work and not because of the politicians or in spite of them. That could have gone easily the other way. Thank God it did not and I was able to see for myself what became of the once so helpless nation and the real big brother who helped. Not the one who just listened and then pounced.

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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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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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