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The cover of Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth

Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth

Frederick Kempe

Why did a single divided city become the place where two nuclear powers risked war?

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At a glance

Author
Frederick Kempe

Why read it

  • You will see how a new president's weak first year carried a heavy cost, and judge Kennedy's choices for yourself
  • You will learn how each side read the other's resolve, and how misreading can raise the stakes
  • You will understand why a wall was seen as a way to avoid war, and what it cost

Who it is for

  • A Cold War history reader who wants a single decisive year
  • A manager who studies decisions made under pressure
  • A traveler to Berlin who wants the story behind the Wall

Contents

  1. FOREWORD
  2. INTRODUCTION: THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS PLACE
  3. PART I
  4. THE PLAYERS
  5. KHRUSHCHEV: COMMUNIST IN A HURRY
  6. KHRUSHCHEV: THE BERLIN CRISIS UNFOLDS
  7. KENNEDY: A PRESIDENT’S EDUCATION
  8. KENNEDY: A FIRST MISTAKE
  9. ULBRICHT AND ADENAUER: UNRULY ALLIANCES
  10. ULBRICHT AND ADENAUER: THE TAIL WAGS THE BEAR
  11. PART II
  12. THE GATHERING STORM
  13. SPRINGTIME FOR KHRUSHCHEV
  14. AMATEUR HOUR
  15. PERILOUS DIPLOMACY
  16. VIENNA: LITTLE BOY BLUE MEETS AL CAPONE
  17. VIENNA: THE THREAT OF WAR
  18. ANGRY SUMMER
  19. PART III
  20. THE SHOWDOWN
  21. “THE GREAT TESTING PLACE”
  22. THE WALL: SETTING THE TRAP
  23. THE WALL: DESPERATE DAYS
  24. A HERO’S HOMECOMING
  25. NUCLEAR POKER
  26. SHOWDOWN AT CHECKPOINT CHARLIE
  27. Epilogue
  28. TITLES BY FREDERICK KEMPE
  29. Photographic Insert

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