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Also by Frederick Kempe:

Berlin 1961, January 2012
Trade Size / e-Book
Berlin 1961, May 2011
Hardcover

BERLIN 1961
By: Frederick Kempe

Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth

Putnam
May 2011
On Sale: May 10, 2011
608 pages
ISBN: 0399157298
EAN: 9780399157295
Hardcover
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Historical | Non-Fiction

A fresh, controversial, brilliantly written account of one of the epic dramas of the Cold War—and its lessons for today.

In June 1961, Nikita Khrushchev called it “the most dangerous place on earth.” He knew what he was talking about.

Much has been written about the Cuban Missile Crisis a year later, but the Berlin crisis of 1961 was more decisive in shaping the Cold War—and more perilous. For the first time in history, American and Soviet fighting men and tanks stood arrayed against one another, only yards apart. One mistake, one overzealous commander—and the trip wire would be sprung for a war that would go nuclear in a heartbeat. On one side was a young, untested U.S. president still reeling from the Bay of Pigs disaster. On the other, a Soviet premier hemmed in by the Chinese, East Germans, and hard-liners in his own government. Neither really understood the other, both tried cynically to manipulate events. And so, week by week, the dangers grew.

Based on a wealth of new documents and interviews, filled with fresh—sometimes startling—insights, written with immediacy and drama, Berlin 1961 is a masterly look at key events of the twentieth century—with powerful applications to these early years of the twenty-first.

Media Buzz

Charlie Rose - May 16, 2011