Berlin 1961 : Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the most dangerous place on earth / Frederick Kempe ; [foreword by Brent Scowcroft].

Originally published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2011.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 553-563) and index.

Part 1. The Players. Khrushchev: Communist in a Hurry ; Marta Hillers's Story of Rape ; Khrushchev: The Berlin Crisis Unfolds ; Kennedy: A President's Education ; The "Sniper" Comes in from the Cold ; Kennedy: A First Mistake ; Ulbricht and Adenauer: Unruly Alliances ; The Failed Flight of Friedrich Brandt ; Ulbricht and Adenauer: The Tail Wags the Bear -- Part 2. The Gathering Storm. Springtime for Khrushchev ; Amateur Hour ; Jörn Donner Discovers the City ; Perilous Diplomacy ; Vienna: Little Boy Blue Meets Al Capone ; Vienna: The Threat of War ; Angry Summer ; Marlene Schmidt, the Universe's Most Beautiful Refugee -- Part 3. The Showdown. "The Great Testing Place" ; Ulbricht and Kurt Wismach Lock Horns ; The Wall: Setting the Trap ; The Wall: Desperate Days ; Eberhard Bolle Lands in Prison ; A Hero's Homecoming ; Nuclear Poker ; Showdown at Checkpoint Charlie -- Epilogue: Aftershocks.

"In June 1961, Nikita Khrushchev called Berlin "the most dangerous place on earth." He knew what he was talking about. Much has been written about the Cuban Missile Crisis a year later, but the Berlin Crisis of 1961 was more decisive in shaping the Cold War -- and more perilous. It was during that hot summer that the Berlin Wall was constructed, which would divide the world for another twenty-eight years. Then two months after the barrier went up, and for the first time in history, American and Soviet fighting men and tanks stood arrayed against each other, mere yards apart. One mistake. one nervous soldier, one overzealous commander -- and the tripwire would be sprung for a war that could go nuclear in a heartbeat. On one side was a young, untested U.S. president still reeling from the Bay of Pigs disaster and a humiliating summit meeting that left him grasping for ways to respond. It would add up to be one of teh worst first-year foreign policy performances of any mosder American president. On the other side was a Soviet premier hemmed in by the Chinese, East Germans, and hard-liners in his own government. With an all important Party Congress approachcing, he knew Berlin meant the difference not only for the Kremlin's hold on its empire -- but also for his hold on the Kremlin. Neither man really understood the other; each cynically tried to manipulate events. And so, week by week, they crept closer to the brink."--Back cover.

Gelber Prize Award 2012 (nominee)