The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour
by: Andrei Cherny
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Product Description:
The masterfully told story of the unlikely men who came together to make the Berlin Airlift one of the great military and humanitarian successes of American history.
On the sixtieth anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, Andrei Cherny tells a remarkable story with profound implications for the world today. In the tradition of the best narrative storytellers, he brings together newly unclassified documents, unpublished letters and diaries, and fresh primary interviews to tell the story of the ill-assorted group of castoffs and second-stringers who not only saved millions of desperate people from a dire threat but changed how the world viewed the United States, and set in motion the chain of events that would ultimately lead to the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and to Americas victory in the Cold War.
On June 24, 1948, intent on furthering its domination of Europe, the Soviet Union cut off all access to West Berlin, prepared to starve the city into submission unless the Americans abandoned it. Soviet forces hugely outnumbered the Allies, and most of Americas top officials considered the situation hopeless. But not all of them.
Harry Truman, an accidental president, derided by his own party; Lucius Clay, a frustrated general, denied a combat command and relegated to the home front; Bill Tunner, a logistics expert downsized to a desk job in a corner of the Pentagon; James Forrestal, a secretary of defense beginning to mentally unravel; Hal Halvorsen, a lovesick pilot who had served far from the conflict, flying transport missions in the backwater of a global wartogether these unlikely men improvised and stumbled their way into a uniquely American combination of military and moral force unprecedented in its time.
This is the forgotten foundation tale of America in the modern world, the story of when Americans learned, for the first time, how to act at the summit of world powera masterful and exciting work of historical narrative, and one with strong resonance for our time.
The masterfully told story of the unlikely men who came together to make the Berlin Airlift one of the great military and humanitarian successes of American history.
On the sixtieth anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, Andrei Cherny tells a remarkable story with profound implications for the world today. In the tradition of the best narrative storytellers, he brings together newly unclassified documents, unpublished letters and diaries, and fresh primary interviews to tell the story of the ill-assorted group of castoffs and second-stringers who not only saved millions of desperate people from a dire threat but changed how the world viewed the United States, and set in motion the chain of events that would ultimately lead to the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and to Americas victory in the Cold War.
On June 24, 1948, intent on furthering its domination of Europe, the Soviet Union cut off all access to West Berlin, prepared to starve the city into submission unless the Americans abandoned it. Soviet forces hugely outnumbered the Allies, and most of Americas top officials considered the situation hopeless. But not all of them.
Harry Truman, an accidental president, derided by his own party; Lucius Clay, a frustrated general, denied a combat command and relegated to the home front; Bill Tunner, a logistics expert downsized to a desk job in a corner of the Pentagon; James Forrestal, a secretary of defense beginning to mentally unravel; Hal Halvorsen, a lovesick pilot who had served far from the conflict, flying transport missions in the backwater of a global wartogether these unlikely men improvised and stumbled their way into a uniquely American combination of military and moral force unprecedented in its time.
This is the forgotten foundation tale of America in the modern world, the story of when Americans learned, for the first time, how to act at the summit of world powera masterful and exciting work of historical narrative, and one with strong resonance for our time.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- The Candy Bombers--I was there!
When the Russians closed down all access roads from West Germany to Berlin, I was in the 98th General Hospital in Munich...having a baby. He was born the day the Berlin Airlift was born.We were ten minutes from the Russian lines, had they chosen to invade.This book brought back many memories. It was so true!And so well written that I devoured every word from cover to cover!Thank you for writing it!
Alpha Quincy
Rating: 
- This isn't a story about the Berlin Airlift
If your an aviation buff, don't this book if you think this is about the Berlin Airlift. This book actually reads like a political hack piece. The author does not know much about the airlift. He does not mention the use of GCI which allowed the airlift to land and take off in near zero conditions.He completly misses the fact that the Navy also participated with their aircraft and crews. He does take a swipe at Curtis LeMay, who lead the fight for a modern US Airforce. He was not a West Pointer, ... Read More
Rating: 
- Onkel Wackelflugel and America's finest hour
"... the victory of the Airlift would mark the sunny apex of the American Century - before the slow slog of Korea, before the shock of Sputnik, before Americans had even heard of places such as the Bay of Pigs or Khe Sanh ... its more than 277,000 flights and 4.6 billion pounds of food and supplies dwarfs the size of any operation since."- Author Andrei Cherny on the Berlin Airlift
As an historical narrative, THE CANDY BOMBERS is akin to a tricorn hat inasmuch as it comprises three ... Read More
Rating: - Overall Very Nice, With Only A Few Problems
This is a fine book, but lost a five-star rating from me when the author 1) rounded out the end of the airlift and subsequent events in seeming mere paragraphs when the balance was quite thorough, and 2) added too many personal deductions or political opinions I simply can't agree with or which aren't necessarily part by the the historical record.
Many technical details are glossed over here, with respect to the Soviet side of the story, with respect to actual airlift operations, for ... Read More
Rating: - Van in Saratoga
I gave this book to my 89 yr. old father for Christmas.He could not put it down, absolutely loved it.
- The Candy Bombers--I was there!When the Russians closed down all access roads from West Germany to Berlin, I was in the 98th General Hospital in Munich...having a baby. He was born the day the Berlin Airlift was born.We were ten minutes from the Russian lines, had they chosen to invade.This book brought back many memories. It was so true!And so well written that I devoured every word from cover to cover!Thank you for writing it!
Alpha Quincy
- This isn't a story about the Berlin AirliftIf your an aviation buff, don't this book if you think this is about the Berlin Airlift. This book actually reads like a political hack piece. The author does not know much about the airlift. He does not mention the use of GCI which allowed the airlift to land and take off in near zero conditions.He completly misses the fact that the Navy also participated with their aircraft and crews. He does take a swipe at Curtis LeMay, who lead the fight for a modern US Airforce. He was not a West Pointer, ... Read More
- Onkel Wackelflugel and America's finest hour"... the victory of the Airlift would mark the sunny apex of the American Century - before the slow slog of Korea, before the shock of Sputnik, before Americans had even heard of places such as the Bay of Pigs or Khe Sanh ... its more than 277,000 flights and 4.6 billion pounds of food and supplies dwarfs the size of any operation since."- Author Andrei Cherny on the Berlin Airlift
As an historical narrative, THE CANDY BOMBERS is akin to a tricorn hat inasmuch as it comprises three ... Read More
- Overall Very Nice, With Only A Few ProblemsThis is a fine book, but lost a five-star rating from me when the author 1) rounded out the end of the airlift and subsequent events in seeming mere paragraphs when the balance was quite thorough, and 2) added too many personal deductions or political opinions I simply can't agree with or which aren't necessarily part by the the historical record.
Many technical details are glossed over here, with respect to the Soviet side of the story, with respect to actual airlift operations, for ... Read More
- Van in SaratogaI gave this book to my 89 yr. old father for Christmas.He could not put it down, absolutely loved it.
