Cold War: A novel about the Berlin Airlift by Helena P. Schrader
Schrader is well on his way to writing the “War and Peace” of the Berlin Airlift.
The Berlin Airlift is just getting started in the summer of 1948, but challenges abound on land and in the air as unexpected allies work together to save a starving city in Cold War, Historian and award-winning author Helena P. Schraderexciting sequel to Cold Peace and middle volume of her new trilogy, Bridge to Tomorrow.
Continue where Cold Peace stopped, Schrader’s characters – and some new ones – adapt to the harsh reality of the Soviet blockade of Berlin, which means something different to each of them. From the physical wounds of war – disfigurement, missing limbs, sexual assault – to the more subtle emotional scars, Schrader’s protagonists are all survivors coming together to save a city.
Putting together the perfect crew
At RAF Gatow, Wing Commander Robin Priestman has his hands full with the 24-hour air traffic that delivers loads of food, coal and other supplies – and accidents are not a problem. If But When. Meanwhile, David Goldman’s efforts to finance his new air transport service, Air Ambulance International, run into turmoil, even though Emily, Robin’s wife, steps in to co-pilot the white ambulance with the red cross that everyone calls “Moby Dick.”
However, evacuating the wounded and transporting aid is not easy, as Soviet forces are becoming increasingly threatening from the air – firing anti-aircraft fire on both sides of the international air corridor – and kidnapping people on the streets for torture and interrogation.
Goldman and Emily recruit RAF pilot Kit Moran to assemble a new flight crew for a second air ambulance and supply ship. The son of a British colonial official and a mixed-race Scottish mother, Moran interviews an unusual mix of engineers, navigators and pilots and assembles the core crew that Schrader follows in his novel. Schrader’s universe focuses on the marginalized, as women, minorities and the disabled all play important roles in the airlift.
Exciting supporting characters and subplots
Although the cast is already large, Schrader introduces a few more characters to further ramp up the action, drama and romantic subplots. USAF pilot JB Baranowsky is called back from the reserves to help with the airlift – three days before his wedding in Michigan. On approach to Gatow, he hears the voice of a British air traffic controller who, he recalls, “calmed him down” during a near-fatal flight in the war.
She is Kathleen Hart of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), a war widow and single mother who continues to rise in her career but wonders if love is unattainable after a disappointing experience in Cold Peace. Baranowsky makes it her mission to find and thank Hart, and as in the other two romantic subplots she includes, Schrader reveals why she “gets” romance so well (suspense, timing, and tell-tale revelations).
Living history
The novel spans July to November 1948, and Schrader also sprinkles in the lesser-known details of the Berlin Airlift of that period – such as “Operation Little Vittles”, in which candy attached to parachutes was dropped on children from landing planes – as well as the complex logistical challenges the Western Allies faced in supplying Berlin.
The novel’s wealth of characters, backstory, and historical detail is matched only by the author’s amazing ability to masterfully juggle all three aspects. She adds a plot summary of the first book, as well as helpful leaderboards, character lists, and maps to give the reader the best possible experience.
With another exciting and captivating climax, Schrader will leave readers yearning for the final volume, Cold victory, to see how this courageous band of multinational freedom fighters cope with the terrible approach of “General Winter” in the final days of 1948.
This trilogy is worth the reader’s time, attention and emotional investment. With Cold War, Schrader is well on his way to War and Peace the Berlin Airlift.
Dr. Helena P. Schrader is the author of six critically acclaimed historical nonfiction books and twenty historical novels, eleven of which have won one or more literary awards. She holds a doctorate in history from the University of Hamburg, which she earned with a groundbreaking biography of a leader of the German resistance to Hitler, and served as an American diplomat in Europe and Africa.
Helena’s main areas of expertise are aviation, World War II, ancient Sparta and the Crusader states.
Release date: 15.05.2024
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Author: Helena P. Schrader
Number of pages: 516 pages
Publisher: Cross Seas Press
ISBN: 9798987177020
