The Berlin Airlift

by Ann Tusa, John Tusa

Recounts the Allied response to the Soviet blockade, with numerous eyewitness accounts providing new insights into the ten-month program that kept Berlin alive

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War

445 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazingly detailed, but also amazingly boring. I learned a lot about the subject, but it was a long textbook like slog. The politics and statistics of the airlift are covered thoroughly, but there is a lack of description to daily life and the lives of the men who flew the airlift missions or served on the ground.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was originally published in 1988 and was then republished in 1998 in the United Kingdom. The original manuscript was then republished for this book by Skyhorse publishing in 2019. The book ends when it was originally written in 1988, so it is very much constructed in the mindset of the Cold War with the attitude of how and when will this ever end, and will Berlin and Germany ever be united and whole again? To the reader, in the present day, who knows the wall fell, Berlin was united, and Germany became the economic powerhouse of Europe- the gloom of East and West Berlin may seem dated and out of place, because the authors don't know how the story ends, and as a result their anxiety of "Will Berlin ever be one again?" seems humorous.

The story is meticulously told, with no detail left unspoken. It's taut, exhaustively researched, objective, thorough, readable, and holds your attention. It is not a page turner, however, and lacks emotion and vivid human drama which is why I can't rate it as a must read. It's solid, and heavily footnoted, which slows the narrative. I like to choose nonfiction history that gives me the "definitive" version or account of the event. This gave me a good overview of the 1948-1949 Berlin blockade and airlift, but it left me wanting to read one of the published source books that the authors used as a resource. There are times when the description of the airlift gets bogged down in heavy sets of statistics, technical terms and numbers. It becomes rather dry and the scenes of wonder, awe, and heroism that was the Berlin Airlift is lost.

There are passages that do stand out. Chapter nine provides the most striking real-life depiction of Joseph Stalin physically that I have ever seen. It's riveting because it shows the slight, short man that he was who once again more than fulfilled the Napoleonic complex. Bedell Smith comes under scrutiny for his weakness in the face of Soviet aggression. Dean Acheson shows up at the very end of the story, and is compelling as always, but the majority of the book misses his presence. The heroes of the Berlin Airlift were too numerous to mention here, but for me General Lucious D. Clay stood out. The fact that he was so loved by the people of West Berlin when he retired because of how he stood up for them, and saved their freedom and independence is testament to how much his story was the one that made the biggest impression on me.

The thing about this book that disappointed me was that it felt like it needed an editor, or that the editor that worked on the manuscript did a poor job of cleaning it up. Individuals are introduced, by just their last name and no title during the reading like we are familiar with them, and later on they are referred to by their full name and title like they are being introduced for the first time. I gave the book four stars, because despite my criticisms, I liked it and the authors John and Ann Tusa are true professionals with an illustrious history in print and broadcast journalism in England. This book is a true reflection of the time it was written in when the standards for journalism were high, and as an avid reader of newspapers in the 1980's, I can attest to the fact that most journalism of the era was conducted in this matter of fact, diligent, dry, and the who, what, when, where, and why of the story. The Tusa's are serious writers and historians who were not concerned with selling books but telling an important story that of the time of its writing was still traumatizing and dividing Europe. That seriousness of purpose and lack of sensationism led me to this book, because I will only buy tomes written by great authors, or by people who were writers and journalists from decades past. I am very leery of non-fiction history books written by broadcast or print journalists of today because of the inauthentic natures of the projects. I will often laugh when I hear journalists of today pitching their books with "I tell you things that you never heard before" while I'm staring at 5 books on my shelves that came out on their subject matter decades before, and I learned it all long ago. It's a slight crock, because while they are lecturing people on how their book will educate them with things not known before- I'm like "yeah, I knew that 20 years ago from this book here." To be fair, those books are probably aimed at young children who are not being immersed in history like us old folks were from earlier times, but I like my nonfiction history to be actually written by the author and not ghost written by someone else, and I'm too old for a McDonaldization of history meant for kids just starting to learn about the world. The Tusa's did the writing here, did the actual work, and provided a nice retelling of a very complicated story. While not great history, it's well done, and provided me with a true education on an event whose achievements may be lost to time as the years roll by.

When I bought this book in 12/2020- I had no idea that the Berlin Airlift would be used by the Biden Administration as a comparison to their disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021. This is a dishonest and shameful comparison by the White House. For the record, the withdrawal from Afghanistan was one of the most disgraceful events in our nation's history. The Berlin Airlift was an amazing accomplishment that overcame physical, logistical, psychological, economic, military, and diplomatic obstacles that at times threatened to undermine and end the entire operation. It was long hours, fierce dedication, a marvelous can-do spirit, and despite tensions and differences between the three allied countries- a wonderful example of teamwork between the Americans, British, and the French. It turned bitter enemies during World War II- The Western Allies and the Germans-into trusting friends during the Cold War and was marked by a spirit of fun and daring do by the allied pilots. Hard it was, easy it was not, but at that time, the Western allies and America were determined not to let their values and the Citizens of West Berlin down. It's a shining example of what can be accomplished when you stand by your values and do not sell them out, or take the easiest path. The Berlin Airlift gave the German people their independence from Soviet Communist rule, and forever earned America and its allies their admiration and respect from a population that knew it was owed nothing after World War II. The courage of the past is sorely lacking from a world that talks much of the future, but is reluctant to truly stand for the ideas and values that will secure its promise of a brighter tomorrow. The Berlin Airlift was a shining example of a society that knew that the freedom of all took true sacrifice of the many, and that the challenges of the world were not some silly political game. The West was great. Will it ever be again? That's the question that I now ask.

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive account of the Berlin Airlift, tracing back to the final stages of the war and relationships between the Allies and Russia across Germany and in Berlin specifically.

[wally walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thorough account of the airlift and the politics behind it

[PottWab Regional Library]

O

[Qianqian Fan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d say it’s an average level non-fiction. Provides us with basic background knowledge about Berlin Airlift as a historical event. Contains some interesting facts that are quite eye-opening.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of the Soviets schooling the allies on post World War II diplomacy. The allies, especially the US, seemed to be shockingly naïve in their dealings with Stalin. Stalin wanted the allies out of Berlin, and imposed a blockade in an effort to bring that about. Faced with this do or die situation, the allies finally rose to the challenge and faced the Soviets down by showing that they could sustain West Berlin with a Herculean airlift effort. While this book bogs down in the logistics of the airlift, quoting endless figures of tonnage moved, it is a worthwhile look at post-World War II dealings in the early Cold War era.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Love your leaders. The kind guys that pay above average wages to all brown noses like the Tusas.

[Kaitrin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sign that says introduce deutschemark Berlin airlift guy crawling through desert