Category: Frank Howley

Putin thought he could get away with the invasion of Ukraine

On By Marc NadeauIn Berlin Airlift, Cold war, Frank Howley, Giles Milton, Harry S. Truman, Joseph Stalin, Macmillan, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr ZelenskyLeave a comment
Giles Milton (source: Macmillan)

Giles Milton is one of my favorite authors. And it’s always a real pleasure to be in touch with him. Even before I wrote my review of his last book, he agreed to answer some questions for this blog. If you haven’t read his book yet, run to the bookstore or get it online. This is a must, in the context of the aggression war conducted against Ukraine. For the time being, I trust you will enjoy this interview.

Mr. Milton, Checkmate in Berlin is a brilliant lecture about American and British innovation in adversity, mainly in organizing the Berlin airlift. Do you see the same attitude these days towards Ukraine?

Nothing on the scale of the Berlin Airlift had ever been attempted before. True, the Americans had airlifted vast quantities of weapons to the Chinese during the Second World War, but the Berlin Airlift was supporting (and keeping alive) several million Berliners.

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Putin’s Soviet Playbook

On By Marc NadeauIn Berlin, Berlin Blockade, Cold war, Ernest Bevin, Frank Howley, Franklin D. Roosevelt, General Lucius Clay, Georgy Zhukov, Giles Milton, History, John Murray Press, Joseph Stalin, Russia, Ukraine, Winston ChurchillLeave a comment

As I grow older, I realize that history is one of the surest guides to navigate the present. While many adhered to Francis Fukuyama’s theory that the demise of Soviet Union on December 26, 1991, represented the end of history, others lamented what they perceived as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century”.

Old habits die hard and Giles Milton’s Checkmate in Berlin: The Cold War Showdown That Shaped the Modern World is an excellent representation of that idiom. “”America is now the primary enemy,” said one of Marshal’s Zhukov’s general at the time of the capture of Berlin. “We have destroyed the base of Fascism. Now we must destroy the base of Capitalism – America.”” Things haven’t changed much in the last 77 years.

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