Book description
'Brilliantly recapturing the febrile atmosphere of Berlin in the first four years after the Second World War, Giles Milton reminds us what an excellent story-teller he is' - Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny
Berlin was in ruins when Soviet forces fought their way towards the Reichstag in…
Why read it?
1 author picked Checkmate in Berlin as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Milton does an exceptional job of tracing the origins of the Berlin crisis that culminated in a Soviet blockade of the 2.2 million German civilians living in the Western Sectors of Berlin.
The book starts with a look at Allied decisions and actions during the Second World War and describes how these influenced and shaped the post-war period. It does a particularly outstanding job of portraying life in occupied Berlin with rare granularity and neutrality. The result is a work that highlights Western hubris, failings, and mistakes as much as Soviet arrogance, deceit, and cruelty.
The book’s strength is explaining…
From Helena's list on the Russian blockade of Berlin and the Allied Airlift.
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