An interesting book that illustrates how President Kennedy, after opening his administration with the Bay of Pigs disaster, grew as a leader after then failing to handle the Berlin crisis of 1961 in the best way. Kempe starts out slowly, building up to the first meeting of Kennedy and Khrushchev, where JFK was overpowered and outmaneuvered verbally by the older and more experienced statesman. The Soviets and East Germans call the shots after that, with the end result being the Berlin wall. Kennedy learns from the showdown and manages to control the Cuban missile crisis in a more seasoned (though barely) way. The last half of this book was quite exciting and Kempe's writing captures the seriousness and tensions of the day. Quite good. Excellent book-well researched and easy to understand. It helped immensely that Kempe started out with the personality characteristics of the major players: Kennedy and his administration, Kruschev, Ulbricht, DeGaulle, Adenauer and MacMillan. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a better understanding of the events that led to the building of the Wall. Many people refer to this barrier as the "Berlin Wall" but this physical demarcation in Germany not only divided East and West Berlin but the entire country from North to South.
What do You think about Berlin 1961 (2011)?
Reads like fiction, but it's not. Scary to think how blind each side was to the other.
—ireadit1
I have this on my NOOK and the enhancements are fascinating.
—trish7sandy
Excellent book about the crazy world in the early 60's.
—1072107499
