Book Review The Candy Bombers

This is a long post, but the book is verrrry long. I listened to the audio version and it was just under 25 hours.

In 1948 American Forces were transporting necessary supplies to West Berlin by truck, train and barges. Russia in an attempt to control all of Berlin blockaded those transports in June. American and British pilots risked their lives to air lift billions of pounds. One Pilot and his crew won the hearts of German Children and their parents by dropping candy tied to tiny parachutes to the children.

Publisher's Weekly said that this book could have been cut by a third, I agree that this book is too long, and sometimes difficult to follow (at least in the first half.) The writing style while factual (taken from journals and diaries) is also very dry. I listened to the audio edition and the reader shows very little emotion and is very flat. It did improve in the last half.

I learned many things from this book. Considering that this took place less than one year before I was born, I would have thought that I would have heard someone talk about it

I don't remember ever even hearing about the Berlin airlift, I did not realize
• That the United States and their allies were very close to going to war with Russia in 1948.
• That the United States military force was very small and after much debate and argument, the draft was reinstated in the spring of '48.
• That, according to Cherny, the Berlin Airlift was a huge factor in Truman's re-election.
• That the Airlift , and the candy drops were one of the big reasons that Germany remained a democratic republic, rather than turning to Communism.
There are things that could be very emotional, the first time the airlift pilots say a bombed out Germany, the pilots meeting the German people and their feelings about saving them, when just a few years earlier they were trying to destroy them.

The writing style while factual (taken from journals and diaries) is also very dry. I listened to the audio edition and the reader shows very little emotion and is very flat.
It did improve in the last half. Even a few moments that were a little humorous, for example:
• When General Lucius Clay, military governor of Germany was preparing to return to the United States after being fired, everything in his house was packed up and they had begun shipping things home. They day before he was scheduled to ship out he was told he would be needed to stay. He went home and told his wife they were not leaving and she said but you can't, you have no pants.
• Some of the interactions between the very shy "candy bomber" Gail "Hal" Halvorson and his fiance and wife.
The airlift almost failed, but after Liutenant General William Tunner was put in charge the Airforce carried billions of tons of food and coal to keep the people of West Berlin alive during the winter of 1948-49.

Lt. Gail Halvorson became a celebrity and made the rounds of the talk shows on the new Television media. because he started dropping candy on handkerchief parachutes to children who were watching the planes come in delivering the supplies to a blockaded West Berlin.
Children and parents wrote thank-you letters to Halvorson calling him Uncle Wiggly Wings because Halvorson would wiggle the plane wings as a signal just before he made the drops, Candy Bomber , Bonbon Bomber, Chocolate Uncle.

As I said I had never heard about much of this. I knew that Gemany was divided, and that East Germany and East Berlin were ruled by Communists, but I had not heard of the Russian Blocade, the Berlin Airlift, or the Candy Bombers. Not from my father, who served in WWII, or my Uncles who were stationed in Germany in the 50's, or in any of my History classes in school.

I think someone could make a really good movie from this. If you like history in general and World War II in particular I would recommend this book, but read the text version so you can skim over the less interesting parts.