If events did not fell in place as they did, if people, who held firmly to their beliefs, did not step up to the challenge, history would look a lot different, and maybe the “ Cold War”, would have become an armed conflict.Įven though the goal of the book is academic (I believe), the author tries to write a narrative which is interesting, informative, accurate, and moving.

The true power of the story comes through the quirks of history, which only can be told with hindsight of decades in the rear-view mirror. The airlift happened in the middle of a presidential election, while the Soviets were trying, forcefully, to show the superiority of their economic system, while America prevailed through showing they simply cared. I’m not talking about the military logistics per say, but all the events and persons which were involved. I have heard of the Berlin Airlift, but never realized all the moving pieces around it. Dropping candy is, in my opinion, what makes American great, a humanitarian operation done purely for altruistic reasons. The airlift was instrumental because if showed the Germans that Americans do care about them, and that the US used all its might to help instead of destroy. The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America’s Finest Hour by Andrei Cherny shows how the official airlift, as well as the unofficial act of dropping candy bars, shifted the views of Berliners to prefer democracy over communism. The Berlin Airlift is a defining moment of the Cold War, the operation showed the people of Berlin, looked upon as enemies of America that we stand behind them. Cherny is an author, lawyer, and businessman. The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America’s Finest Hour by Andrei Cherny is a non-fiction account of one of America’s greatest and successful humanitarian missions.

La candy book