Book List 1: Berlin 1961

I would be hard pressed to come up with the number of books I've read in my lifetime. I'm always reading something, and have been ever since I can remember. If I had to hazard a guess, I've probably read, on average, at least 24 books annually as a teenager and an adult. So I've likely read something like 700+ books since say age 12. I wish now that I'd have kept track of all those books, though I usually know whether I've read something or not.

As part of this blog I will track what I'm reading. Right now it's Berlin 1961 by Frederick Kempe. Turns out there was a potentially more dangerous faceoff than the Cuban Missile Crisis between the USSR and USA in the middle of Berlin as the infamous Wall went up. Kennedy was a newly elected rookie President that Krushchev played like a fiddle leading up to the crisis. American tanks and troops were arrayed against matching Soviet forces in a tense standoff.

Kempe writes very well and covers all the angles, telling the story through the writings and speeches of the principals involved. Excellent read so far!