Based on a wealth of new documents and interviews, filled with fresh--sometimes startling--insights, written with immediacy and drama, "Berlin 1961" is a masterly look at key events of the 20th century, with powerful applications to these early years of the 21st.

Pt. 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 -- Pt. 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 -- Pt. 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.