Candy Bombers

Some people would give it four instead of five stars. This might be due to the detailed descriptions of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering. However, for me, it is a wonderful, get-out-yer-hankies (in spots), well-read book. After I had a run of middlin' books from Audible, this is a grand slam home run!!

This book is a real surprise. Not only does it give a history of the Berlin Airlift, the men who dropped the candy to the children in Berlin and the men who planned and orchestrated the over 240,000 flights that saved the city from the Russian blockade. You meet the generals and civilians in charge and the others involved. It takes you to Berlin after the end of WWII and the savage and brutal treatment of the citizens of Berlin by the Russian troops. Cherny also describes the 1948 presidential election, the candidates and their campaigning, the infighting among the State Department, Joint Chiefs of Staff, James Forrestal and Truman. Jonathan Davis is a terrific reader.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. Cherny made history live by providing background to all facets of this incredible feat. He focused on several central players and provided their history and interwove this information into the greater story. I felt as if I was hearing a cliffhanger who-done-it even though I knew that the airlift happened. It was interesting to see how chance events came together to cause this bit of history. Cherny also speculates about the impact the Berlin Airlift had on the American image overseas and the USAs pre-eminence in the second half of the 20th century. Overall a great book.

This was an excellent story with facts about the end of WWII, Berlin, Truman politics and Gale Halverson. Gale was from Utah and so am I so it struck a good cord. His kindness to the sad Berlin children helped to galvanize the West Berliners against communison and changed their hearts about their US conquerers. Well narrated and worth the listen.

I normally don't listen to history books but I really liked this one. Jonathan does a very good job of narrating.

This book was interesting throughout - I never tired of listening to it. It isn't just one story - it is a combination of several stories involving people, history, and and the impact of an often overlooked piece of history. So much background is provided that the reader gets an indepth and fascinating picture of the world and its political realities after WW2.
The narration is excellant and gives the book an edge that I don't think would be there in the print version.

The beginning is a bit slow as it develops the characters that later comprise the decision makers in this historical saga, but once that is over, you will have a hard time stopping. It is an amazing account of a time in history most of us know little about. Excellent narration and well written. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The author & narrator take us for a harrowing ride with the candy bombers. I read the hardcover & was so impressed that I couldn't wait to hear it read to me with this audible edition.
This is a refreshing history lesson told as a gripping story full of fright, passion, sadness and joy. So many times the hair stood up on my arms and I cried out of terror and happiness. An outstanding story about the triumph of heart.
So many things came to light about the cold war and how close our world did come to communism.
Cherny made this manly history lesson read like chick-lit while including the details of politics and war.
My father and husband are history buffs & they were overjoyed with it. Even they learned new things.
Excellent Excellent Excellent!

This is a story about American's at their best. The beginning part of the book while a sometimes a bit dry in it's history is very informative and as the story builds the book just gets better. It's a good listen and it's nice to hear about America doing the right thing even when it wasn't the easy thing. At over 20 hours it got me to and from work for long time.

A superb book explaining the historical significance of the Berlin airlift to American politics.
A good explanation of how difficult the airlift was and an excellent insight into Truman the man