Kennedy and the Berlin Wall: "A Hell of a Lot Better than a War"
W. R. Smyser
(Author)
Description
Kennedy and the Berlin Wall tells the full story of the Berlin Crisis that riveted international attention and brought the world to the brink of nuclear warfare as Soviet and American tanks opposed each other on the streets of Berlin. Drawing on the author's own experience as an American diplomat in Germany during the period, as well as on recently opened Soviet, East German, and American archives, Smyser tells the story of how the fate of a city affected national politics as well as geopolitics. This compelling mix of documentary resources and direct experience of diplomatic negotiations makes the book unique. The author has a keen sense of the critical moment and draws incisive portraits of the politicians and diplomats involved in this drama--most importantly, the two main actors, Kennedy and Khrushchev, but also DeGaulle for the French, Macmillan for the British, and Konrad Adenauer for the West Germans, as well as such critical career diplomats as Dean Rusk and Andrei Gromyko.
Product Details
Price
$74.40
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Publish Date
August 16, 2009
Pages
256
Dimensions
6.0 X 9.0 X 1.1 inches | 1.4 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780742560901
BISAC Categories:
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About the Author
W. R. Smyser served at the U.S. Mission in Berlin from 1960 to 1964 and was Assistant to General Lucius Clay during the Berlin Wall Crisis. He then served at the White House as Senior Staff and later at the United Nations as Assistant Secretary-General. He has been a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Henry Alfred Kissinger Scholar at the Library of Congress. He has written numerous books and articles on Germany and Europe.
Reviews
Deeply impressive, this book recalls Kennedy's historic statement 'ich bin ein Berliner' and General Clay's cooperation with Kennedy to save Berlin. It should be read by all who want to know how Germany and Berlin are now free and united.--Horst Teltschik, Chancellor Helmut Kohl's negotiator on German unification
As a diplomat, Richard Smyser advised Gen. Lucius Clay. As a young German-speaking American he heard and faced the fears of the Berliners. Now, as a scholar, he tells the gripping story of the events that led to the Wall and the debate within the Kennedy administration over how to respond. He also describes how Kennedy found his 'voice' when he went to West Berlin and saw the Wall.--Garrick Utley, chairman of The American Council on Germany and president of The Levin Graduate Institute
Smyser illuminates the crisis over the Berlin wall and the way an untried President Kennedy maneuvered to avert an armed collision with the Soviets. I covered that crisis on the ground in Berlin in 1961. From this prodigiously researched book I now better understand the wider context of the crisis.--Daniel Schorr, senior news analyst for National Public Radio
As a diplomat, Richard Smyser advised Gen. Lucius Clay. As a young German-speaking American he heard and faced the fears of the Berliners. Now, as a scholar, he tells the gripping story of the events that led to the Wall and the debate within the Kennedy administration over how to respond. He also describes how Kennedy found his 'voice' when he went to West Berlin and saw the Wall.--Garrick Utley, chairman of The American Council on Germany and president of The Levin Graduate Institute
Smyser illuminates the crisis over the Berlin wall and the way an untried President Kennedy maneuvered to avert an armed collision with the Soviets. I covered that crisis on the ground in Berlin in 1961. From this prodigiously researched book I now better understand the wider context of the crisis.--Daniel Schorr, senior news analyst for National Public Radio
