Customer Reviews

The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour

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-Just wanted to add another well-deserved five-star review for this book. I have just finished it and didn't want it to end, but was cheered to have read it.

-Candy Bombers describes how the Berlin Airlift not only became a strategic victory for democratic ideals, but a positive and uplifting victory for the human spirit. Cherny begins by describing the events preceding the Airlift, including the almost unspeakable devastation and hopeless forecast for recovery in Germany at the time. The War largely destroyed Berlin, rebuilding was painfully slow, and not only did the Germans and the Allies despise each other but by 1948 the distrust between the Western and Soviet allies allies threatened to bring another major conflict to the area. That year, the Soviets blockaded the land routes to Berlin, and Cherny then rivetingly describes how the airlift became "THE Airlift" -- how it grew from a chaotic makeshift, ridiculous patchwork effort into one of the most efficient resupply efforts the world has ever seen. This did not have to happen -- indeed, few people even though it could be successful and the nay-sayers were won over only slowly. This development was itself an act of kindness and persistence. Along the way, Cherny describes how the Airlift helped show Germans and the Western Allies that yes, they actually did care for each other and were both willing to sacrifice deeply for democracy and community. This beautiful transformation was hastened by a kind-hearted pilot who decided to drop pieces of candy to some hungry and kindness-needing kids along his flight path (candy was amazingly scarce after the war, and was happily received). No matter what your political views, this story is amazing -- how a simple but persistent act of decency can transform the spirits of innocent children and can set the conditions for a similar transformation in adults. Compassion is the source for hope, and its exercise can make one proud to be human. Cherny then describes how the Airlift invigorated Western foreign policy and how the Soviets never again succeeded in gaining another inch of territory in Europe. Indeed, it was a singular peak for democracy, before the Russians exploded an atom bomb, the Korean stalemate began, and materialism became a dominant factor in American culture.

-The author writes exceptionally well -- this was a most interesting and well-coordinated tale, with excellent (if not always archival) documentation and internal consistency. I am sure someone will point out an inaccuracy here and there, but this book succeeds at its purpose and I would place it among the upper echelon of uplifting, well-told books I can remember reading. The book combined the right elements of realism and idealism, and made me prouder to be a human being.

-The author is a journal editor, former White House speechwriter, and senior research fellow.

- I hope this helps and hope you will enjoy this wonderful book about a uniquely wonderful episode in world history. We can all use such a story!

I just picked this book up and once I started reading I could not put it down. The book is fascinating and covers a critical but now mostly forgotten turning point in world history. One aspect of the book I found most interesting was how the blockade of Berlin impacted the direction of Truman's presidency and changed the direction of U.S. policy to halt Soviet expansionism. It seems clear now that had there been no blockade and no airlift, Truman's winning a second term would have been highly unlikely.

My only complaint is the choice of title. It's not the first book about the airlift using 'Candy Bombers' in the title. But really, why quibble. This is much more than a book about nice guy pilots, 'The Candy Bombers', throwing chocolate from their planes as they flew into Berlin (though a heart-warming story it was). I hope we will be seeing more books from Mr. Cherny in the not too distant future. He is the same caliber of writer and historian as David McCullough, Douglas Brinkley and the formidable Stephen Ambrose

Andrei Cherny's new book shares such amazing and vivid details about historic events that you'll feel like you've been transported in time as you turn the pages and it all unfolds before you. Every student of history -- and of life -- should read this book. It will no doubt be heralded by book critics and historians alike because it is important, compelling and a great read!

I have to admit I am not a "history buff" and generally choose novels for my summer reading. Moreover, I somehow never once got to the end of World war II in any of the history classes in my 22 years of education, so this book was not a natural pick for me. But The Candy Bombers felt like a novel, it was so dramatically told and wonderfully written. As others point out, this book is about an event that gains more and more relevance to contemporary events every day, as we debate how to move forward in the "war on terror," as we take more and more prisoners in this "war," and as natural catastrophes devastate countries in distant lands. The question of how to treat a defeated enemy, even one so horrifically evil as Nazi Germany, is profoundly moral. How we answer it in many ways defines who we are as a nation. Mr. Cherny notes in his blog that all four of his grandparents were concentration camp survivors, and that he had struggle with this question as wrote his account of the airlift. The result of his struggle is an extremely impressive and visionary book.

A fast and interesting read -- it reminded me of The Rising Tide in the way it presented a large amount of historical detail in an easily accessible format. I really enjoyed the subtle message that it contains for current foreign policy. America became a model for the world in the aftermath of World War II by showing not just strength but compassion. Sometimes a candy bar is a more effective tool of foreign policy than a fighter jet. Anyone responsible for our nation's foreign policy should be required to read this book.

This book sets in place, much of what many have missed. The years between the end of WWII and the Korean war were more harrowing than I ever realized. The author has written a classic, a text book example of great history writing.

Cherny captures an inspiring and highly relevant tale for our time beautifully. If you enjoy reading David McCullough, you'll enjoy reading Andrei Cherny. The author brings this critical tale of winning hearts and minds to life in vivid engaging detail.

The highest praise for this book and for its author is that at the end of it you're left with a sense of awe and longing; awe at how well this book captures one of this nation's finest hours on the international stage and longing in that you'll wish the lessons from the cold war were being applied today.

The Berlin Airlift always seemed to me to be a sideshow to the much more colorful World War II era. Until "The Candy Bombers," the airlift rated a single photo or illustration in histories -- not worth a read in the period prior to Korea. But "The Candy Bombers" shows how vital was this time in world history, and how meaningful -- both symbolically and materially -- was the airlift as the Cold War started. Author Andrei Cherny starts his study as the war in Europe is ending. American and Russian forces are converging on the Elbe in an air of shared joy and triumph. But celebration soon begins turning sour as the Russians show increasing signs of freezing their erstwhile allies -- the Americans, British and French -- out of the action. Berlin -- surrounded by the bulk of what would become East Germany -- was supposedly ruled by the four powers. But the Russians' first move was to shut down the city to their fellow fighters while their soldiers went on a hellish rampage. Soon, the Soviets were beginning to ramp up the kind of antidemocratic mob action and intimidation that had toppled regimes in Eastern Europe. It seemed that Berlin was next. The question was not whether, but when the war-weary Allies would call it quits and leave the city to its fate.

"The Candy Bombers" sets the Berlin crisis against world and America politics. At the end of WWII, Americans rightly expected to be able to demobilize the armed forces and return to a pre-war normalcy. The Soviets had other ideas. Tactics of intimidation were being foisted on the democratic governments in France, Italy, Germany, Greece and other places. It seemed inevitable that the Soviets would soon roll up Europe into its empire, replacing Hitler with Stalin, yet another totalitarian,

Cherny depicts this action taking place against American politics of 1948. President Truman was judged by many as not smart enough to be lead the free world. His party was split by Progressive candidate Henry Wallace, who wanted peace at any price. The Republicans fielded Thomas Dewey, the popular governor of New York, who acted as though the White House was his for the taking.

Cherny gives us the stories of many of the men who brought the airlift to life. General Clay, the military commander of occupied Germany; Hal Halvorsen, the pilot who started dropping candy to the children of Berlin; William Tunner, the logistical mastermind behind the airlift, who kept the tonnage rising and the airfields humming; James Forrestal, the mentally unstable Secretary of Defense who was one of the first to see the Communist threat, and many others. What makes "The Candy Bombers" so special is that it shows America it its finest -- belatedly, but resolutely girding itself to stand against tyranny -- expending vast sums for the benefit of a people against whom it had fought bitterly just a few years before. The American people's inherent goodness and generosity helped to turn what could have been the prelude to totalitarian domination and atomic war into a symbol of hope and freedom.

"The Candy Bombers" is a must-read for any who want to know more about the roots of the Cold War. There were times when this Massachusetts liberal thought that Cherny was laying on the anti-Soviet brush a bit thickly, but the facts seem to support his statements. It's shocking to think that the Soviets would try to starve out 225,000 impoverished people, or would brutally ravage its women or actually shoot at airplanes bringing aid. But the facts are the facts. As someone who grew up in the ludicrously hysterical 1950s and 1960s, when anti-Soviet ardor seemed overblown and more than faintly ridiculous, it was hard to appreciate the hatred of my elders toward the Soviets. "The Candy Bombers" helps bring to mind what was at stake with a Soviet takeover -- economic dysfunction, mob rule and mass murder. A spectacled, principled intellectual like me would not have stood a chance in their system.

Don't let the page count dissuade you from picking it up this marvelous book. The audio book is a hefty 21-CDs long, but the story unrolls very quickly and is completely engaging. Great book. Great history.

Reading this book is an emotional and stirring event on many different levels. It offers one of the clearest and most succient histories of the period just after the Second World War. The book also does an excellent job of providing balance between the outsized personalities who helped shape the airlift and the amazing achievement that the airlife in itself was.

One of the most touching aspects however is the human aspect of the story. Besides telling the story of the candy bomber which has already been told many times before, the book gives a great history of how the German people were shown the light and turned their backs on a totalitarian form of government towards one that the democracy that exists today.

All in all this is an epic read from an epic time. The subtitle captures it best when it says that it was America's finest hour.

I purchased this book on the recommendation from the Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts historian, Stephen. A copy of the book is in their historical museum. Chicopee was involved as a central location for the making, handling and distribution of the thousands of candy parachutes. The book is very well written and easy to follow along. So much history packed into one book, and makes one very proud to be an American. It truly was America's finest hour. It is uncommon for me to read non-fiction (or to even write a review), so take this recommendation as a great compliment. Since reading The Candy Bombers, I have now a huge pile of non-fiction books, some to further educate myself on the history of the Berlin Wall.