| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.2

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.2 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Comparative/World

Rolf Steininger. Der Mauerbau: Die Westmächte und Adenauer in der Berlinkrise 1958–1963. Munich: Olzog. 2001. Pp. 411.

Of the great power confrontations during the Cold War years, the Cuban missile crisis is probably best remembered and is generally considered to be the most dangerous one. Rolf Steininger rejects this notion. Instead, he agrees with Paul Nitze, assistant secretary of defense during the Kennedy administration, who declared that the Berlin crisis was a more dangerous conflict. Unlike the thirteen-day missile crisis, the Berlin conflict dragged on for more than half a decade (November 1958 through 1963) and left ample room for misunderstandings about how far each side would go to defend its position in the divided city. During the brief but serious Allied tank confrontation at Checkpoint Charlie in October 1961, the Berlin conflict reached an intensity that rivaled the missile crisis. Moreover, while the West closed its ranks behind President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban conflict, the Berlin confrontation was also characterized by difficult and protracted deliberations among the Western powers about how to react to the Soviet challenge. This decision-making process and the underlying deterioration of the relationship among the leading Western politicians are the focus of Steininger's book. . . .

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