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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
This book is proof that we'll written crap is still crap. The author took on writing about Berlin at the end of World War II and the post war era. This subject is so huge and complex that adapting it to a novel format is a challenge he couldn't meet. To offset the scope he relies on cliche and melodrama that is irritating rather than compelling. I gave it 2 stars because it is grammatically well written.
Good in theory. Historical context was interesting. Writing easy going. But still, I lost interest...
I love Leon Uris and he delivered with this book as well. The Berlin Airlift is not something I knew much about but it was interesting to read about. I loved having the characters introduced throughout and they were each interesting in their own way. I completely recommend this.
Besides the lame one-dimensional characterizations, the level of misogyny in this book was kind of a hateful record. Bye loser.
Set in the closing days of WWII and the years after the war, Armageddon is a novel about a much underappreciated aspect of war, the reconstruction of an enemy nation after the war is over. This novel is about the soldiers who ruled Germany after Hitler left the scene. They were the ones who had to rebuild, restore power, sewage and water, enforce the law and rebuild the government of the conquered nation. In this respect, "Armageddon" was an excellent novel. Uris writes a very exciting narrative that keeps the reader's attention, from the closing days of WWII until the grand adventure known as the 1948 Berlin Airlift. Uris explores the difficulty of military jobs that are underappreciated; the logisticians, truck drivers, engineers, medical personnel, journalists and the military government types who run the whole show. Uris also describes for the reader the tense politics that came through the shared governance of Berlin by the four allied forces, including a less than sincere Soviet force. It was this conflict between the Soviets and the other allies that resulted in the siege of Berlin and the massive logistical airlift operation that fed a city of 2 million people and the allied personnel in Berlin for weeks until the Soviets finally lifted the siege. In a sense, the Airlift did more than feed and provide for millions of Germans in 1948. It firmed up allied resolve the stand up to the Soviets, and in places like Greece, Italy and France it rolled back what was once considered to be an unstoppable Communist juggernaut in Europe.
I wish that I could have given this novel 3 or 4 stars, but it has major flaws. The most obvious one is one which Uris exhibits in the other two novels of his that I have read. Uris tends to paint entire nationalities and peoples with the brush of their worst members. In "Armageddon", Uris spends several pages discussing how the German people are savages from the forest who are incapable of living Judeo-Christian values. He describes the Russians as Asian barbarians who are incapable of thinking for themselves without some tyrant telling them what to say. He makes a point of indicating that the Soviets brought in Mongols to introduce a particularly savage form of revenge on the German people after the war. Uris introduces conflicts between his characters based not on ethics or personality but on nationality; ie American soldiers must hate Germans and are betraying their nation by falling in love with a German woman. This outlook permeats the novel and makes it difficult for an open-minded individual to appreciate what Uris is trying to say.
The other issue here is the cardboard cutout characters. All of the American soldiers are cowboy maverick types who buck authority - in fact, it was hard toward the end to differentiate which soldier was which in dialogue because they all sounded the same. Another problem was that Uris dug too deeply into the technical issues of the airlift, so that several pages of the novel read like a technical manual on airlift operations. That is interesting, but it could have been cut down considerably. During the Airlift portion of the novel Uris jumps back and forth between the plot and the operational descriptions that it becomes confusing and loses the flow of the novel.
Overall, I would recommend this novel to anyone who wants to understand the issues that the Allies faced in rebuilding Germany after the war and stopping the Soviet agenda. It is really the best novel that I have read on these issues, despite its shortcomings.
I wish that I could have given this novel 3 or 4 stars, but it has major flaws. The most obvious one is one which Uris exhibits in the other two novels of his that I have read. Uris tends to paint entire nationalities and peoples with the brush of their worst members. In "Armageddon", Uris spends several pages discussing how the German people are savages from the forest who are incapable of living Judeo-Christian values. He describes the Russians as Asian barbarians who are incapable of thinking for themselves without some tyrant telling them what to say. He makes a point of indicating that the Soviets brought in Mongols to introduce a particularly savage form of revenge on the German people after the war. Uris introduces conflicts between his characters based not on ethics or personality but on nationality; ie American soldiers must hate Germans and are betraying their nation by falling in love with a German woman. This outlook permeats the novel and makes it difficult for an open-minded individual to appreciate what Uris is trying to say.
The other issue here is the cardboard cutout characters. All of the American soldiers are cowboy maverick types who buck authority - in fact, it was hard toward the end to differentiate which soldier was which in dialogue because they all sounded the same. Another problem was that Uris dug too deeply into the technical issues of the airlift, so that several pages of the novel read like a technical manual on airlift operations. That is interesting, but it could have been cut down considerably. During the Airlift portion of the novel Uris jumps back and forth between the plot and the operational descriptions that it becomes confusing and loses the flow of the novel.
Overall, I would recommend this novel to anyone who wants to understand the issues that the Allies faced in rebuilding Germany after the war and stopping the Soviet agenda. It is really the best novel that I have read on these issues, despite its shortcomings.
I read this a bit reluctantly at the recommendation of a friend. It’s not my typical style, and it was admittedly dry in parts and nothing special writing wise. But I did learn a lot about Berlin’s history, particularly in the years directly following WII. I’m giving it 4 stars for the educational value.
After lying in the house for fifteen plus years, a cover-less copy with all-brown pages and stinking, I finally picked this up to read after getting newly interested in the Cold War.
Armageddon deals from the period of WW2 in Europe (around early-1944) through to the Berlin Airlift during the Soviet Blockade of West Berlin (1948-49). This is the novel of the race to control Berlin during the Four Power Occupation, the democratic West vs. the Communist Soviet.
Being divided into four parts, the first two parts of the book, (about 250 pages) are simply superb! 5-stars to this. It comprises of a lot of historical facts, character's back-flashes, enough emotions, focuses on the dynamics between the US marines, the non-Nazi Germans, and the Russians, each of the combinations being treated separately. This, I thought, is very well done. Lots of research might have gone into it. Also included, is focus on the treatment of the German women by the Russian army, and also in the background at times, as to how the communist Russians at that time had been not much different than the Nazis. Berlin is also introduced in this part of the book (nearly at page 175). The devastated city is very well described Also, well written is how the survivors were managing with their lives in such times. This was the part, upon reading, that I thought I was reading an amazing book.
However, the later 2 parts (the next 350 pages), were the pages in which I felt the story dragged a bit, some characters (the probable protagonists) disappeared for a few pages, some new ones came up. I started missing out on historical facts, unlike as was in the first two parts. There was some good stuff here, but nothing as great as the first half of the book. The Airlift itself becomes a part of the story after about 420 pages. The book slowly for me, went from a 5- to a 3-star, while somewhere before the ending (at around 80 pages pending), it came back towards a 4.
The book is big enough. Character building was nice. The book is a a fast-read. Too much military stuff in the later part of the book. The first half of the book had quite some stuff to reflect upon though. I would recommend anyone who is interested, to at least read the first half of the book.
P.S. : The stink in between the pages has now gone away. :P
Armageddon deals from the period of WW2 in Europe (around early-1944) through to the Berlin Airlift during the Soviet Blockade of West Berlin (1948-49). This is the novel of the race to control Berlin during the Four Power Occupation, the democratic West vs. the Communist Soviet.
Being divided into four parts, the first two parts of the book, (about 250 pages) are simply superb! 5-stars to this. It comprises of a lot of historical facts, character's back-flashes, enough emotions, focuses on the dynamics between the US marines, the non-Nazi Germans, and the Russians, each of the combinations being treated separately. This, I thought, is very well done. Lots of research might have gone into it. Also included, is focus on the treatment of the German women by the Russian army, and also in the background at times, as to how the communist Russians at that time had been not much different than the Nazis. Berlin is also introduced in this part of the book (nearly at page 175). The devastated city is very well described Also, well written is how the survivors were managing with their lives in such times. This was the part, upon reading, that I thought I was reading an amazing book.
However, the later 2 parts (the next 350 pages), were the pages in which I felt the story dragged a bit, some characters (the probable protagonists) disappeared for a few pages, some new ones came up. I started missing out on historical facts, unlike as was in the first two parts. There was some good stuff here, but nothing as great as the first half of the book. The Airlift itself becomes a part of the story after about 420 pages. The book slowly for me, went from a 5- to a 3-star, while somewhere before the ending (at around 80 pages pending), it came back towards a 4.
The book is big enough. Character building was nice. The book is a a fast-read. Too much military stuff in the later part of the book. The first half of the book had quite some stuff to reflect upon though. I would recommend anyone who is interested, to at least read the first half of the book.
P.S. : The stink in between the pages has now gone away. :P
Dramatic Origins of the Cold War
Leon Uris does a masterful job of bringing to life Berlin during the four years between 1945-49, by combining complex and believable characters, precision research, and all the drama inherent to post-war Germany.
From the first arrival of Russian troops into Germany’s capital during the final days of World War II to the challenge of undertaking the Berlin airlift, Uris shows the behind-the-scenes political machinations that can now, in retrospect, be seen as the true origins of the Cold War. It’s the Americans, British and French (on one side) determined to rebuild a democratic Germany and Stalin and the Soviet Union (on the other side) equally intent on adding Germany to a growing list of Eastern block Communist allies.
To this mix, add a sprinkle of Nazi war criminals, a few Soviet collaborators, a guilt-ridden German population eager to redeem their world image, and some simple human beings trying to survive in a city decimated by American bombers. Everyday life is a challenge. Food is in short supply. Anti-fraternization laws get enacted, then ignored. Black market profiteers take advantage. Women are both brutally raped and freely trading their bodies for a little extra food or tobacco. Friendships between American and Soviet military personnel may blossom but lack of trust keeps them limited. Romances between Americans and Germans begin but lingering hatred and suspicion of Nazis remains deeply ingrained in even the best-intentioned American servicemen.
You will care deeply for what happens to these characters. Hansen, the crusty General, called back from retirement despite a serious heart condition. Sean, the super-efficient Major who loves a German girl but remains haunted by two brothers, both killed during the war. Scott – a womanizing pilot who gets much more than he expects when he bets a friend he can bed a certain beautiful Fraulein. And Ernestine, a German woman torn between a father who was a Nazi sympathizer and her uncle recently released from a concentration camp, who is just trying to build some kind of meaningful life among the rubble.
This is a great story. And, like all the Uris books I’ve read, he provides a rich telling of a critical historical moment. Personally, I found a little too much detail about the technical statistics of the Berlin airlift. But the story and the people kept me going. This is a long one. But worth the time.
Leon Uris does a masterful job of bringing to life Berlin during the four years between 1945-49, by combining complex and believable characters, precision research, and all the drama inherent to post-war Germany.
From the first arrival of Russian troops into Germany’s capital during the final days of World War II to the challenge of undertaking the Berlin airlift, Uris shows the behind-the-scenes political machinations that can now, in retrospect, be seen as the true origins of the Cold War. It’s the Americans, British and French (on one side) determined to rebuild a democratic Germany and Stalin and the Soviet Union (on the other side) equally intent on adding Germany to a growing list of Eastern block Communist allies.
To this mix, add a sprinkle of Nazi war criminals, a few Soviet collaborators, a guilt-ridden German population eager to redeem their world image, and some simple human beings trying to survive in a city decimated by American bombers. Everyday life is a challenge. Food is in short supply. Anti-fraternization laws get enacted, then ignored. Black market profiteers take advantage. Women are both brutally raped and freely trading their bodies for a little extra food or tobacco. Friendships between American and Soviet military personnel may blossom but lack of trust keeps them limited. Romances between Americans and Germans begin but lingering hatred and suspicion of Nazis remains deeply ingrained in even the best-intentioned American servicemen.
You will care deeply for what happens to these characters. Hansen, the crusty General, called back from retirement despite a serious heart condition. Sean, the super-efficient Major who loves a German girl but remains haunted by two brothers, both killed during the war. Scott – a womanizing pilot who gets much more than he expects when he bets a friend he can bed a certain beautiful Fraulein. And Ernestine, a German woman torn between a father who was a Nazi sympathizer and her uncle recently released from a concentration camp, who is just trying to build some kind of meaningful life among the rubble.
This is a great story. And, like all the Uris books I’ve read, he provides a rich telling of a critical historical moment. Personally, I found a little too much detail about the technical statistics of the Berlin airlift. But the story and the people kept me going. This is a long one. But worth the time.
A good, sweeping tale. Intelligently written, as well, but it delves quite often into poor black/white (usually ethnically-based) moral stereotypes. It's a shame, too, as the real-life actors in the actual history have a stark enough moral contrast that it isn't necessary for the author to compound it with his own biases; the 'bad guys' were beyond bad, and the 'good guys' were good. It's not a story that requires embellishment on that score. Still, there's more than enough of value here that allows me to forgive that.