Berlin on the Brink: The Blockade, the Airlift, and the Early Cold War

“Daniel F. Harrington has written a superb narrative of the evolution of the Berlin crisis.” — American Historical Review

” Berlin on the Brink is scholarship of the highest order…The analytical insight, intellectual rigor, and breadth and depth of research that characterize this volume ensure that its arguments will continue to set the tone of historical debates about the Berlin airlift for a long time to come.” — Air Power History

“”A scintillating book shedding new light on the history of the Berlin Airlift and the early years of the Cold War.” –Helmut Trotnow, former director, Allied Museum, Berlin, Germany” —

“”Harrington draws on previously untapped archival sources to challenge standard accounts of the postwar division of Germany, the origins of the blockade, the original purpose of the airlift, and the leadership of President Harry S. Truman.”– McCormick Messenger” —

“”Harrington’s highly readable account of the first major crisis of the Cold War is distinguished by its ability to describe the high politics of governmental decision-making and evoke the human apsects of the crisis months.” — Victor Mauer, International Affairs” —

“”Harrington’s history of these tense months is without equal in the quality of its scholarship and interpretative framework and will certainly become the standard historical work on this well-known event.” — Library Journal” —

“”One of the most thoughtful, carefully constructed, thoroughly researched, and and well-argued analyses of a major international crisis that I have ever read.” –Thomas A. Schwartz, Vanderbilt University” —

“”This book surpasses the many surveys and monographs on the subject that have been published over the past sixty years. It is a comprehensive study, and Harrington’s is a nuanced approach on more than one level.” –Lawrence S. Kaplan, author of NATO 1948: The Birth of the Transatlantic Alliance” —

“”Through meticulous research, Harrington has achieved a masterful synthesis that brings together for the first time all the intricate military, diplomatic, and political strands of the Berlin Crisis. It truly ranks as the definitive account.” –Steven L. Rearden, Joint History Office, Washington, D.C.” —

“Daniel F. Harrington does not seek to recapture a heroic version of the airlift, but celebrates it more subtly. — Journal of American History” — Paul Steege

“Harrington’s research in U.S. depositories is espeically outstanding, leaving no relevant government documents or personal papers unexamined. — H-Net Reviews” — Fred M. McCormick

“Harrington’s superb narrative of the evolution of the Berlin crisis is right on many counts. — American Historical Review” — Sheldon Anderson

“One of the most thoughtful, carefully constructed, thoroughly researched and well-argued analyses of a major international crisis that I have ever read.” — Thomas A. Schwartz, Vanderbilt University

“Successfully exploiting a rich variety of primary and secondary sources, with excellent maps and photos, …Cold War scholars, graduate students, undergraduates, and those interested in the crisis should take note of what Harrington believes we can learn from it.” — Historian

“This book surpasses the many surveys and monographs on the subject that have been published over the past sixty years. It is a comprehensive study, and Harrington’s is a nuanced approach on more than one level.” — Lawrence S. Kaplan, author of NATO 1948: the Birth of the Transatlantic Alliance

Daniel F. Harrington is deputy command historian at United States Strategic Command.