The Life And Times Of A Cold War Serviceman

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The Life and Times of a Cold War Serviceman

Author : Maurice F. Mercure
Publisher : Trafford Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1466953861
Total Pages : 601 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (669 download)

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Book Synopsis The Life and Times of a Cold War Serviceman by : Maurice F. Mercure

Download or read book The Life and Times of a Cold War Serviceman written by Maurice F. Mercure and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11 with total page 601 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book may be dry in parts, but it is exactly how a serviceman's life unfolds. It may seem strange to some people that your day-to-day existence (daily life) is dictated by pieces of paper. It is not like a civilian that does not have a rigid routine with military precision. In one sense, it gives you a feeling of security, knowing what is laid out for you. On the other hand, it gives you the feeling that someone else is pulling the strings for you to act. As you retain copies of all these orders (paperwork) for your personal files, you have a running (chronological) history of your life. It covers all aspects the good, the bad, and the ugly. It may be hard for a civilian, nonmilitary person, who has not had any exposure to military life, to understand all the paperwork in this book. While reading this book, take a moment to see how different a serviceman's life is compared to a civilian's.

Cold War Soldier

Author : Terry "Stoney" Burke
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781038721600
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (216 download)

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Book Synopsis Cold War Soldier by : Terry "Stoney" Burke

Download or read book Cold War Soldier written by Terry "Stoney" Burke and published by . This book was released on 2017-03-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The danger of participating in live-fire exercises and a Christmas spent in a military prison are described in detail in this graphic picture of military life at the height of the Cold War. ''''From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an 'iron curtain' has descended across the continent.'''' These words, uttered by Winston Churchill in 1946, heralded the beginning of the Cold War. In this first-hand account of a NATO soldier, Terry Stoney Burke paints a graphic picture of military life at the height of the Cold War. From the trials and tribulations of basic training, through his progress of becoming an infantryman and explosive specialist, to his posting in Germany, his pull no punches narrative tells the sometimes humorous, often poignant, story of life as a common soldier. Cold War Soldieris not a book for veterans alone. Burkes explanations of military procedures, weapons, and army life strike a happy balance between reminding ex-servicemen of things they knew but may have forgotten, and creating a clear picture for the military novice.

Fighting the Cold War

Author : John R. Galvin
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 0813161029
Total Pages : 568 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

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Book Synopsis Fighting the Cold War by : John R. Galvin

Download or read book Fighting the Cold War written by John R. Galvin and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2015-04-28 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When four-star general John Rogers Galvin retired from the US Army after forty-four years of distinguished service in 1992, the Washington Post hailed him as a man "without peer among living generals." In Fighting the Cold War: A Soldier's Memoir, the celebrated soldier, scholar, and statesman recounts his active participation in more than sixty years of international history -- from the onset of World War II through the fall of the Berlin Wall and the post--Cold War era. Galvin's illustrious tenure included the rare opportunity to lead two different Department of Defense unified commands: United States Southern Command in Panama from 1985 to 1987 and United States European Command from 1987 to 1992. In his memoir, he recounts fascinating behind-the-scenes anecdotes about his interactions with world leaders, describing encounters such as his experience of watching President José Napoleón Duarte argue eloquently against US intervention in El Salvador; a private conversation with Pope John Paul II in which the pontiff spoke to him about what it means to be a man of peace; and his discussion with General William Westmoreland about soldiers' conduct in the jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia. In addition, Galvin recalls his complex negotiations with a number of often difficult foreign heads of state, including Manuel Noriega, Augusto Pinochet, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Ratko Mladić. As NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during the tumultuous five years that ended the Cold War, Galvin played a key role in shaping a new era. Fighting the Cold War illuminates his leadership and service as one of America's premier soldier-statesmen, revealing him to be not only a brilliant strategist and consummate diplomat but also a gifted historian and writer who taught and mentored generations of students.

The Last Soldiers of the Cold War

Author : Fernando Morais
Publisher : Verso Books
ISBN 13 : 178168877X
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (816 download)

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Book Synopsis The Last Soldiers of the Cold War by : Fernando Morais

Download or read book The Last Soldiers of the Cold War written by Fernando Morais and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2015-06-16 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here is the story of political prisoners finally freed in December 2014, after being held captive by the United States since the late 1990s. Through the 1980s and 1990s, violent anti-Castro groups based in Florida carried out hundreds of military attacks on Cuba, bombing hotels and shooting up Cuban beaches with machine guns. The Cuban government struck back with the Wasp Network—a dozen men and two women—sent to infiltrate those organizations. The Last Soldiers of the Cold War tells the story of those unlikely Cuban spies and their eventual unmasking and prosecution by US authorities. Five of the Cubans received long or life prison terms on charges of espionage and murder. Global best-selling Brazilian author Fernando Morais narrates the riveting tale of the Cuban Five in vivid, page-turning detail, delving into the decades-long conflict between Cuba and the US, the growth of the powerful Cuban exile community in Florida, and a trial that eight Nobel Prize winners condemned as a travesty of justice. The Last Soldiers of the Cold War is both a real-life spy thriller and a searching examination of the Cold War’s legacy.

No Greater Love

Author : Freddie Valenzuela
Publisher : BookPros, LLC
ISBN 13 : 0979027586
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (79 download)

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Book Synopsis No Greater Love by : Freddie Valenzuela

Download or read book No Greater Love written by Freddie Valenzuela and published by BookPros, LLC. This book was released on 2008 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No Greater Love is essential reading for both American civilians and past, present, and future military personnel. Written by Major General Freddie Valenzuela, who has served all over the world and throughout several wars, this book offers eye-opening discussions of:* Challenges faced by Hispanic soldiers in the U.S. Army.* The life and burial of the very first casualty of the Iraq War.* The relatively unknown lives of the other twenty-one casualties that General Valenzuela buried.* Advice for current and future soldiers in moving up the ranks in their military careers.* Life in a military family, as revealed through firsthand accounts by the general's wife and children.* And many other topics affecting today's soldiers.

We Were Soldiers Too

Author : Bob Kern
Publisher : Bob Kern
ISBN 13 : 1508645299
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (86 download)

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Book Synopsis We Were Soldiers Too by : Bob Kern

Download or read book We Were Soldiers Too written by Bob Kern and published by Bob Kern. This book was released on 2015-02-25 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for Book of the Year Military Autobiography in 2015 A GRIPPING, TRUE STORY TOLD FROM THE FRONT LINES AS THE WORLD FACED THE POSSIBILITY OF NUCLEAR WAR This is a personal account of military service and the historical events that were happening during President Reagan's time in office as the world faced the possibility of nuclear war. The author was in the US Army from November 1980 until March 1988 which coincided with President Reagan's time in office. He quickly went from a naive seventeen year old boy to a dedicated die hard soldier ready to sacrifice his life for his country. An assignment that likely would have been at Ground Zero of a nuclear war. On the verge of World War 3 and nuclear war, "We Were Soldiers Too" is about the difficult job of serving in the infantry during a very critical time of the Cold War. Serving as the first line of defense for a Soviet invasion in Germany, he found himself assigned the responsibility of defending an area in the Fulda Gap with only one objective, to hold the advancing Soviets until reinforcements arrived. Read what other veterans think of "We Were Soldiers Too" "An excellent illustration of the lives and sacrifices of our Cold War enlisted service members. I recommend it to all. It brings back memories of those days and what we did during that era." Edward A. Chesky "I highly recommend this for anyone to read, especially for anyone that has served this great Nation. I suspect that my fellow Cold War Veterans will be able to relate to a lot of what this author writes about." Tracy A Stephens "An excellent book about those men who served during the Cold War. Excellent insight into how the Army prepared for a possible Soviet invasion. I highly recommend this book." Gary E. Earls "I too am a Cold War Reagan Soldier and I Enjoyed this Book very much. I think Bob did a great job by putting in writing how we all feel. We were highly Trained and Ready to meet any Challenge and Subdue any Threat. We were part of the Strongest Army in the history of the United States. We were and Still are Soldiers. I am Proud to have served with such fine members of the Military." Curtis Nazelrod Scroll up and grab a copy today!

Maxwell Taylor’s Cold War

Author : Ingo Trauschweizer
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 0813177022
Total Pages : 325 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

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Book Synopsis Maxwell Taylor’s Cold War by : Ingo Trauschweizer

Download or read book Maxwell Taylor’s Cold War written by Ingo Trauschweizer and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2019-04-19 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: General Maxwell Taylor served at the nerve centers of US military policy and Cold War strategy and experienced firsthand the wars in Korea and Vietnam, as well as crises in Berlin and Cuba. Along the way he became an adversary of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's nuclear deterrence strategy and a champion of President John F. Kennedy's shift toward Flexible Response. Taylor also remained a public critic of defense policy and civil-military relations into the 1980s and was one of the most influential American soldiers, strategists, and diplomats. However, many historians describe him as a politicized, dishonest manipulator whose actions deeply affected the national security establishment and had lasting effects on civil-military relations in the United States. In Maxwell Taylor's Cold War: From Berlin to Vietnam, author Ingo Trauschweizer traces the career of General Taylor, a Kennedy White House insider and architect of American strategy in Vietnam. Working with newly accessible and rarely used primary sources, including the Taylor Papers and government records from the Cold War crisis, Trauschweizer describes and analyzes this polarizing figure in American history. The major themes of Taylor's career, how to prepare the armed forces for global threats and localized conflicts and how to devise sound strategy and policy for a full spectrum of threats, remain timely and the concerns he raised about the nature of the national security apparatus have not been resolved.

Special Forces Berlin

Author : James Stejskal
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1612004458
Total Pages : 383 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis Special Forces Berlin by : James Stejskal

Download or read book Special Forces Berlin written by James Stejskal and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-02-15 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The previously untold story of a Cold War spy unit, “one of the best examples of applied unconventional warfare in special operations history” (Small Wars Journal). It is a little-known fact that during the Cold War, two US Army Special Forces detachments were stationed far behind the Iron Curtain in West Berlin. The existence and missions of the two detachments were highly classified secrets. The massive armies of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies posed a huge threat to the nations of Western Europe. US military planners decided they needed a plan to slow the expected juggernaut, if and when a war began. This plan was Special Forces Berlin. Their mission—should hostilities commence—was to wreak havoc behind enemy lines and buy time for vastly outnumbered NATO forces to conduct a breakout from the city. In reality, it was an ambitious and extremely dangerous mission, even suicidal. Highly trained and fluent in German, each of these one hundred soldiers and their successors was allocated a specific area. They were skilled in clandestine operations, sabotage, and intelligence tradecraft, and were able to act, if necessary, as independent operators, blending into the local population and working unseen in a city awash with spies looking for information on their every move. Special Forces Berlin left a legacy of a new type of soldier, expert in unconventional warfare, that was sought after for other deployments, including the attempted rescue of American hostages from Tehran in 1979. With the US government officially acknowledging their existence in 2014, their incredible story can now be told—by one of their own.

Tales from the Cold War

Author : Michael D. Mahler
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781940771922
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (719 download)

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Book Synopsis Tales from the Cold War by : Michael D. Mahler

Download or read book Tales from the Cold War written by Michael D. Mahler and published by . This book was released on 2021-12-28 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Secrets of the Cold War

Author : Leland C. McCaslin
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1906033919
Total Pages : 201 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis Secrets of the Cold War by : Leland C. McCaslin

Download or read book Secrets of the Cold War written by Leland C. McCaslin and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the espionage files, an American soldier is nearly recruited in a downtown bar to be a spy and a First Sergeant is lured by sex to be an unknowing participant in spying. Behind-the-lines images are historic and intriguing. See photographs of a French officer and a Soviet officer relaxing in the East German woods in a temporary unofficial peace; 'James Bond' type cars with their light tricks and their ability to leave their Stasi shadows 'wheel spinning' in the snow will amaze readers. A Russian translator for the presidential hotline recounts a story about having to lock his doors in the Pentagon, separating himself and his sergeant from the Pentagon Generals when a message comes in from the Soviets. When he called the White House to relay the message to the President and stood by for a possible reply to the Soviet Chairman, he stopped working for the Generals and started working solely for the President.

Born a Soldier

Author : J. Michael Cleverley
Publisher : Booksurge Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781439214374
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (143 download)

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Book Synopsis Born a Soldier by : J. Michael Cleverley

Download or read book Born a Soldier written by J. Michael Cleverley and published by Booksurge Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Born a Soldier is a tour of the mid-20th century's conflicts with the remarkable Larry Thorne. Capturing the "times" as well as the "life" of its protagonist, it is a journey with a truly amazing and colorful man. Born "Lauri TÖrni," Thorne fought in Finland's first to last battles with Russia winning the country's equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor. As the legendary leader of one of the most elite companies in the Finnish army, one of the best armies of World War II, Thorne carried a price on his head, dead or alive, from the Red Army, reputedly the only Finnish soldier so singled out. When World War changed to Cold War, Thorne was a refugee, political prisoner, fugitive, exile, and illegal alien, and eventually gained legal status in the US through an Act of Congress. An early member of the Green Berets he was soon a legend there, too: the book The Green Berets' first Vietnam hero, "Kornie" in Chapter One, the chapter that served as the basis for the movie.

Little Cold Wars Wargaming the Cold War Using Toy Soldiers

Author : John Curry
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781326723699
Total Pages : 126 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (236 download)

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Book Synopsis Little Cold Wars Wargaming the Cold War Using Toy Soldiers by : John Curry

Download or read book Little Cold Wars Wargaming the Cold War Using Toy Soldiers written by John Curry and published by . This book was released on 2016-07-12 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Possibly the sort of wargame H.G Wells might have developed if he had been a child in the 1970s. But perhaps not. Written by Tim Gow (shown left) and Bertrand Plastique, the book recreates battles from the era of the Cold War. Based on the original ideas of H.G. Wells, this book brings the original toy soldier rules up to date to recreate wars from the time of the Cold War onto the wargamer's table top or preferably, his lawn. The rules grasp the essentials of Cold War combat; movement, close assault, direct fire, artillery and air support. They also include additional rules to cover the complexities of engineering, smoke and the wider air battle. They do so in a style reminiscent of Little Wars, just with tanks and aircraft. These rules are straightforward, but comprehensive toy soldier rules that allow the wargamer to experience the battles, actual and potential, from those days.

NORAD and the Soviet Nuclear Threat

Author : Gordon A.A. Wilson
Publisher : Dundurn
ISBN 13 : 1459704118
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (597 download)

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Book Synopsis NORAD and the Soviet Nuclear Threat by : Gordon A.A. Wilson

Download or read book NORAD and the Soviet Nuclear Threat written by Gordon A.A. Wilson and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2012-03-17 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explore the history of the Canadian air defence of North America during the Cold War. NORAD and the Soviet Nuclear Threat is the history of the air defence of Canada during the Cold War era. The reader is taken into the Top Secret world of NORAD, the joint Canadian-American North American Air Defence network. Ride along with the aircrew in their cockpit as they fight an electronic joust in the skies. Go deep underground to the Command Centre as the Air Weapons controllers plot the air war on their radar screens. Visit the radar sites deep in the Canadian bush as they struggle to provide the radar data for an electronic air battle happening overhead. An actual NORAD exercise on 10 May 1973, called Amalgam Mute, is used as an example. This exercise tested that NORAD was honouring its motto: Deter, Detect, Destroy, and was protecting North America from aerial threat. There is an extensive explanation of the aircraft, squadrons, weapons, radar, and radar sites involved. Included are two personal accounts of the first interception of a Soviet "Bear" bomber off the coast of Canada, and the first Canadian fighter interceptor pilot to win the coveted United States Air Force "Top Gun" award.

Plan B

Author : Hartmut Schober
Publisher : Ek-2 Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9783964031396
Total Pages : 140 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (313 download)

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Book Synopsis Plan B by : Hartmut Schober

Download or read book Plan B written by Hartmut Schober and published by Ek-2 Publishing. This book was released on 2021-03-29 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Iron Curtain is about to fall. Will it mean war, or peace? A young conscript in the German Armed Forces is going to find that out, and soon. When 18-year-old Hartmut Schober gets drafted into the Bundeswehr, the German Armed Forces, the year is 1989, and it's the final peak of the Cold War. Military training is never easy, but as George Washington said, to be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace - and the Bundeswehr is determined to preserve peace. By all means. As Schober soon finds out, those means include harsh drills with cruel drill instructors, huge and dangerous NATO exercises, as well as funny encounters with the US soldiers, and even Darth Vader's storm troopers invading a suburb of Cologne. Dramatic times need dramatic measures, after all, though for Schober it quickly turns into just "the normal insanity of the German soldiers' daily business". Just the everyday life of the ordinary soldier. Written by soldiers for soldiers and all interested parties - same as all the EK-2 Publishing's German Military Fiction books - Plan B will take you on a journey of a proud young West German soldier in the final days of the Cold War, show you what it looked like in those days, and perhaps bring back memories of your own turn abroad. More than 25 drawings by German veteran Markus Preger support the story. Besides, the book features 3 short stories by Hartmut Schober as a bonus.

Elvis’s Army

Author : Brian McAllister Linn
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674973755
Total Pages : 455 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (749 download)

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Book Synopsis Elvis’s Army by : Brian McAllister Linn

Download or read book Elvis’s Army written by Brian McAllister Linn and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2016-09-06 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the U.S. Army drafted Elvis Presley in 1958, it quickly set about transforming the King of Rock and Roll from a rebellious teen idol into a clean-cut GI. Trading in his gold-trimmed jacket for standard-issue fatigues, Elvis became a model soldier in an army facing the unprecedented challenge of building a fighting force for the Atomic Age. In an era that threatened Soviet-American thermonuclear annihilation, the army declared it could limit atomic warfare to the battlefield. It not only adopted a radically new way of fighting but also revamped its equipment, organization, concepts, and training practices. From massive garrisons in Germany and Korea to nuclear tests to portable atomic weapons, the army reinvented itself. Its revolution in warfare required an equal revolution in personnel: the new army needed young officers and soldiers who were highly motivated, well trained, and technologically adept. Drafting Elvis demonstrated that even this icon of youth culture was not too cool to wear the army’s uniform. The army of the 1950s was America’s most racially and economically egalitarian institution, providing millions with education, technical skills, athletics, and other opportunities. With the cooperation of both the army and the media, military service became a common theme in television, music, and movies, and part of this generation’s identity. Brian Linn traces the origins, evolution, and ultimate failure of the army’s attempt to transform itself for atomic warfare, revealing not only the army’s vital role in creating Cold War America but also the experiences of its forgotten soldiers.

Soldier

Author : Karen DeYoung
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 1400075645
Total Pages : 642 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Soldier by : Karen DeYoung

Download or read book Soldier written by Karen DeYoung and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2007-11-06 with total page 642 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The definitive biography of Colin Powell, from his Bronx childhood to his military career to his controversial tenure as secretary of state, with an updated afterword detailing his life after the Bush White House. Over the course of a lifetime of service to his country, Colin Powell became a national hero, a beacon of wise leadership and one of the most trusted political figures in America. In Soldier, the award-winning Washington Post editor Karen DeYoung takes us from Powell’s humble roots as the son of Jamaican immigrants to his meteoric rise through the military ranks during the Cold War and Desert Storm to his agonizing deliberations over whether to run for president. Culminating in his stint as Secretary of State in the Bush Administration and his role in making the case for war with Iraq, this is a sympathetic but objective portrait of a great but fallible man.

Checkmate in Berlin

Author : Giles Milton
Publisher : Henry Holt and Company
ISBN 13 : 1250247551
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (52 download)

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Book Synopsis Checkmate in Berlin by : Giles Milton

Download or read book Checkmate in Berlin written by Giles Milton and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a master of popular history, the lively, immersive story of the race to seize Berlin in the aftermath of World War II as it’s never been told before BERLIN’S FATE WAS SEALED AT THE 1945 YALTA CONFERENCE: the city, along with the rest of Germany, was to be carved up among the victorious powers— the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. On paper, it seemed a pragmatic solution. In reality, once the four powers were no longer united by the common purpose of defeating Germany, they wasted little time reverting to their prewar hostility toward—and suspicion of—one another. The veneer of civility between the Western allies and the Soviets was to break down in spectacular fashion in Berlin. Rival systems, rival ideologies, and rival personalities ensured that the German capital became an explosive battleground. The warring leaders who ran Berlin’s four sectors were charismatic, mercurial men, and Giles Milton brings them all to rich and thrilling life here. We meet unforgettable individuals like America’s explosive Frank “Howlin’ Mad” Howley, a brusque sharp-tongued colonel with a relish for mischief and a loathing for all Russians. Appointed commandant of the city’s American sector, Howley fought an intensely personal battle against his wily nemesis, General Alexander Kotikov, commandant of the Soviet sector. Kotikov oozed charm as he proposed vodka toasts at his alcohol-fueled parties, but Howley correctly suspected his Soviet rival was Stalin’s agent, appointed to evict the Western allies from Berlin and ultimately from Germany as well. Throughout, Checkmate in Berlin recounts the first battle of the Cold War as we’ve never before seen it. An exhilarating tale of intense rivalry and raw power, it is above all a story of flawed individuals who were determined to win, and Milton does a masterful job of weaving between all the key players’ motivations and thinking at every turn. A story of unprecedented human drama, it’s one that had a profound, and often underestimated, shaping force on the modern world – one that’s still felt today.