Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin

by Leon Uris

In Berlin at the end of World War II, an American Army officer bears witness to the aftermath of one historic tragedy and the rise of another. Captain Sean O'Sullivan distinguishes himself as a courageous soldier in the closing days of World War II, but what comes next tests his deepest reserves of strength and conviction. Sent to oversee the rebuilding of Berlin, O'Sullivan is exposed to the horrific truths of the Holocaust, a shattered and defeated society, and the new threat of Soviet power as the Iron Curtain begins to shadow the city. When Soviet forces blockade Berlin and the airlift begins, O'Sullivan is faced with profound moral dilemmas in an increasingly complicated world. Armageddon is one of the great fictional portrayals of Europe in the earliest days of the Cold War.

"Magnificent. The great drama of the Berlin airlift . . ." -The Columbus Dispatch

"A vast panorama of people and places . . . dramatic moment after dramatic moment in a throbbing tempo." -New York Herald Tribune

Leon Uris (1924-2003) was an author of fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays whose works include numerous best-selling novels. His epic Exodus (1958) has been translated into over fifty languages. Uris's work is notable for its focus on dramatic moments in contemporary history, including World War II and its aftermath, the birth of modern Israel, and the Cold War. Through the massive success of his novels and his skill as a storyteller, Uris has had enormous influence on popular understanding of twentieth-century history.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, War, Germany, Historical, World War II, Classics

632 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Leon Marcus Uris (August 3, 1924 - June 21, 2003) was an American novelist, known for his historical fiction and the deep research that went into his novels. His two bestselling books were Exodus, published in 1958, and Trinity, in 1976.

Leon Uris was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Jewish-American parents Wolf William and Anna (Blumberg) Uris. His father, a Polish-born immigrant, was a paperhanger, then a storekeeper. William spent a year in Palestine after World War I before entering the United States. He derived his surname from Yerushalmi, meaning "man of Jerusalem." (His brother Aron, Leon Uris' uncle, took the name Yerushalmi) "He was basically a failure," Uris later said of his father. "He went from failure to failure."

Uris attended schools in Norfolk, Virginia and Baltimore, but never graduated from high school, after having failed English three times. At age seventeen, while in his senior year of high school, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Uris enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served in the South Pacific as a radioman (in combat) at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and New Zealand from 1942 through 1945. While recuperating from malaria in San Francisco, he met Betty Beck, a Marine sergeant; they married in 1945.

Coming out of the service, he worked for a newspaper, writing in his spare time. In 1950, Esquire magazine bought an article, and he began to devote himself to writing more seriously. Drawing on his experiences in Guadalcanal and Tarawa he produced the best-selling, Battle Cry, a novel depicting the toughness and courage of U.S. Marines in the Pacific. He then went to Warner Brothers in Hollywood helping to write the movie, which was extremely popular with the public, if not the critics. Later he went on to write The Angry Hills, a novel set in war-time Greece.

According to one source, in the early 1950's he was hired by an American public relations firm to go to Israel and "soak up the atmosphere and create a novel about it". That novel would be Exodus, which came out in 1958 and became his best known work. Others say that Uris, motivated by an intense interest in Israel, financed his own research for the novel by selling the film rights in advance to MGM and writing articles about the Sinai campaign. It is said that the book involved two years of research, and involved thousands of interviews. Exodus illustrated the history of Palestine from the late 19th century through the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. It was a worldwide best-seller, translated into a dozen languages, and was made into a feature film in 1960, starring Paul Newman, directed by Otto Preminger, as well as into a short-lived Broadway musical (12 previews, 19 performances) in 1971. Uris' novel Topaz was adapted for the screen and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Uris' subsequent works included: Mila 18, a story of the Warsaw ghetto uprising; Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin, which reveals the detailed work by British and American intelligence services in planning for the occupation and pacification of post WWII Germany; Trinity, an epic novel about Ireland's struggle for independence; QB VII, a novel about the role of a Polish doctor in a German concentration camp ; and The Haj, with insights into the history of the Middle East and the secret machinations of foreigners which have led to today's turmoil.

He also wrote the screenplays for Battle Cry and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Uris was married three times: to Betty Beck, with whom he had three children, from 1945 through their divorce in 1968; Margery Edwards in 1969, who died a year later, and Jill Peabody in 1970, with whom he had two children, and divorced in 1989.

Leon Uris died of renal failure at his Long Island home on Shelter Island, aged 78.

Leon Uris's papers can be found at the Ransom Center, University of Texas in Austin. The collection includes all of Uris's novels, with the exception of The Haj and Mitla Pass, as well as manus

Reviews

[Veeral · Rating 1 out of 5]

A combination of pan-optical research and an almost perfect presentation of stereotypical characters makes this book a near masterpiece of "how to ruin an exceptionally researched work through horrible writing" genre.

I picked up "Armageddon" as it covered the "Berlin Airlift" event amongst other things.

Initially, I was delighted by the amount of information Uris started ladling out, and I settled-in for a scrumptious 800 page long brain feeding orgy. There were some brief but nicely handled descriptions of the events like the Soviet betrayal of the Polish Underground and the Siege of Leningrad.

Meanwhile, my reading experience already started suffering from all the pitfalls that almost all the books written in that era suffered from. Racism, male-chauvinism... you know how they rolled back then.

Moreover, the characters started sounding like Yoda, but I still persisted, as I really really wanted to read about the Berlin Airlift.

Then more than halfway through, I realized that I still didn't remember the protagonist's name. There were actually two main guys. One in immediate Post-War Germany and other one during the Berlin Airlift. Or maybe there were three. I am still not sure because they all sounded like they were the same guy who was talking as if he was heavily sedated. Or maybe there really was only one protagonist. I can't say for sure, because Uris covered his tracks really well.

Berlin Airlift came and went, and Uris made sure that I didn't know who did what.

Only thing I'll remember about "Armageddon" is that that Uris probably thought that a woman's primary mentionable character trait was whether she was "big-busted" or not... and yes, one of the "good guys" in the book thought that homosexuality was a perversion.

This was my first Leon Uris book, and... well.

[Sherry H · Rating 4 out of 5]

At our family Thanksgiving celebration, my mother-in-law pressed this book into my hands and said, "Sherry, I know you like to read, so you have to read this. It is the only book that truly describes what it was like in Germany after the war." (And, oh, by the way, hurry, because I want to lend it to someone else after you.) Born in Bonn in 1938, my M-I-L lived through many of these events before emigrating to the US in the late 40's. When she says this is what it was really like, that carries some weight.

Now, as an enthusiastic reader of all things WWII, I had no objection. However, as I got into it, I found I could not tear through it at my typical pace (700 pages = 3-4 days reading, usually). This one took me weeks. And I'm a little grumpy that I felt compelled to read this during the holiday season. There's not a lot of "jolly, happy, ho-ho-ho" in here.

This is, however, the first book about the Allied occupation of Germany I've read, and I was very pleasantly surprised by both its altitude and its depth. Rarely does a single author, in a single book, describe the view from 30,000 feet (figuratively speaking, although he does describe Berlin from a pilot's point of view, literally, also) as well as pinpoint the day-to-day experiences of such a wide variety of characters. Uris skillfully describes the cultural differences between the Germans, the Russians, the Americans, the Brits, etc. Much of that is painted with a broad brush, of course, but those descriptions did help me understand the cultural mind-set of the various groups.

I won't call this book great literature, but it is a fantastic history lesson. The omniscient narrator changed altitudes (to stick with my metaphor) frequently, and I sometimes didn't know who was speaking a spoken line. Still, the story of the occupation and the airlift is fascinating. As historical fiction, however, I'm not really sure what's true and what's fictional. Is fictional character General Andrew Jackson Hanson the equivalent of real General Lucius Clay, and is this an accurate portrayal? Is Lt. Colonel Sean O'Sullivan real? I want these heroes to be real! I guess I'll have to read a non-fiction book about the Berlin Airlift to figure out what's what.

Bottom line: well-described military and political triumphs over true evil, at the expense of shattered human lives.

This was my first Leon Uris novel, but I'd be willing to read him again.

[happy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally think this is his best novel. It caused me to to read up on the German occupation and the Berlin airlift.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a phenomenal piece of writing that tells the story of the reparation of Germany after WWII by the big four allied powers. The title kept me from reading this book for years. 'Armageddon' would be Mr. Uris' delving into the book of REVELATIONS in THE HOLY BIBLE, or so I thought, and more is the pity for me. I cannot stress enough the importance of this book.


Mr. Uris had the unique talent of weaving many themes into a single and understandable book. He never left me hanging on a cliff pondering whether I should just let go and drop because the subject was outside my realm of comprehension. Perhaps the talent of rescuing readers on the cliff is what made him one of the best authors of our time. How did he manage a slew of characters, animosities between countries and races, doomed relationships between races because of guilt by association, logistical issues wheretofore never known to man, and still leave his readers captivated?

Did he go Hollywood too early in his career? Was he a racist? Was he a 'for this but against that' kind of man? That and more has been said about him. My truth about him is that there is always more than meets the eye in his novels, and 'filler' is not what makes his books lengthy.

A posthumous thank you to Mr. Uris for a Good Read.

[Ivan da Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leon Uris ,conhecido pela sua exaustiva pesquisa histórica, relata-nos com mestria e sem cansar, o esforço sobre-humano dos E.U.A e dos seus aliados em não deixar cair Berlim nas "mãos" dos comunistas soviéticos, enquanto tentam fazer renascer das cinzas a economia Alemã numa época pós Segunda Guerra Mundial. O esforço épico para "aeroabastecer" Berlim de bens de primeira necessidade enquanto os comunistas continuam com o bloqueio por terra e mar é simplesmente grandioso.
O escritor transforma um livro baseado em acontecimentos reais, num romance genial com uma habilidade sublime só destinada aos grandes escritores.

Embora o personagem principal Sean, seja um tenente americano, a verdade é que o autor brinda-nos com muitas personagens (e não não fica confuso) todas elas com um passado , com uma historia e todas bem encaixadas no desenrolar do livro de forma eximia. Nao há uma uma única personagem a fazer de figurante, não uma única que não tenha um propósito.

Infelizmente estamos perante um livro que já não se vende em Portugal (talvez consigas um exemplar num alfarrabista como foi o meu caso ou num site de produtos em segunda mão), digo infelizmente porque este livro é um pedaço de arte.
Embora seja cheio de acontecimentos históricos, não é de todo aborrecido de se ler, antes pelo contrário, temos romance, temos suspense e no final além de "armazenares" um grande conhecimento sobre o pós Segunda Guerra Mundial, ficas com a sensação de que algo teu ficou naquelas páginas, pois a leitura é tão imersiva e tão real que parece que foste tu que viveste aquela história.

Acreditem meus amigos, mesmo que não seja a vossa "praia " não hesitem e partam numa odisseia "Em busca da esmeralda perdida " . 😁😁

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first Uris historical novel. I first told my husband that reading it was a bit of a slog due to uneven pacing and poorly-executed blending of research and narrative. Plus the subject matter, Berlin in the immediate aftermath of WWII, pretty much disqualified the book from the race for the Feel-Good Book of 1964.

Then I proceeded to talk the hubby's ear off about what the book taught me about the bizarre politics of postwar Berlin and the Airlift that kept the city from slipping into total oblivion. So I clearly got something from reading it.

Most notable was the book's prolonged, strange, and ultimately troubling struggle with reconceiving the idea of "The German" and "The German Mind" in a post-Nazi world. The characters were the ones struggling, but I got the sense that Uris himself was exploring the question. OK, but really? THE German Mind? Way to interrogate one's cultural biases.... But maybe that's the English major in me being all holier-and-more-politically-correct-than-thou. Either way, it was a valuable reading experience.

[Dann Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars on my scale is a book that I will read again and one that I might buy for someone else to read.

This is a great book. Leon Uris creates characters and weaves their person stories through the historical events beginning with the end of WWII and proceeding through the difficulties with the Soviet Union blockading Berlin. He masterfully uses his characters to illustrate the difficulties that come when the victor in a conflict must eventually learn to live with the people they have beaten. He also shows how difficult it can be for a defeated nation to recover in a positive way.

This story echoed our current difficulties in working with the governments of Iran and Afghanistan as well as their trials in re-building their nations in a positive direction.

The story also highlights the documented belligerent behavior of the Soviets as was typical throughout the Cold War.

This book works on so many different levels. It should be considered a "must read" for any serious reader.

[Jefi Sevilay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Herşey annemlerin evinde yarım saatlik bir bekleyişle başladı. Televizyon açıp oyalanmak ya da sosyal medyada vakit öldürmek aklımın ucundan geçmediği için kitaplığını karıştırayım dedim. Kitapların birçoğu bana uygun değildi ama sonra Leon Uris'in sapsarı, eskilik kokan kitaplarına gözüm ilişti. Hep Leon Uris'in kitaplarından bahsederdi zaten. Özellikle de 7 Numaralı Mahkeme. Trinity ve Armageddon kitaplarını elime aldım, Armageddon daha kalın olduğu için de ona başladım.

Tabi dile kolay. Bu kitap 1976 baskısı ve tam 43 yıldır annemin kitaplığında duruyor, evden eve de dolaşıyor. Mutlaka güzel olmalı derken, hatta 2. Dünya Savaşı sonrası o noir havanın etkili bir casuslukla savaşını beklerken çok farklı birşeyle karşılaştım.

Araştırma ile anlatının ağızda kötü bir tat bıraktığı bu kitap çok önemli şeyler hakkında hiçbirşey anlatmayan tarihi bir başucu kitabı.

Ne hikayesi hikaye, ne karakteri karakter. 800 sayfadır ana karakterin adını unutmama 2 saat ya kaldı ya kalmadı. Ya da o ana karakter değil miydi? Belki de Amerikan tarafının karakteriydi de Rus tarafının karakteri İgor da önemliydi. Çünkü onun da toz ve gaz bulutu olduğu zamandan başladık.

Tabi kitap çok eski ve artık basımı da olmadığı için kendi kendime konuşuyor da olabilirim :) Keşke biri daha sahaflardan alıp okusa da üzerine tartışsak.

Son olarak kitap kafamda pek çok soru doğurdu. Savaş sonrası bir ülkeyi bölmek zor, yönetmek daha zor, hele bir tarafta Emperyalist Amerika diğer tarafta Komünist Rusya varken bu nasıl olabilir gerçekten merak uyandırıcı. Sonra aklıma 1. Dünya Savaşı sonrası İstanbul'u fetheden, hatta yanlış bilmiyorsam burada 5 yıl boyunca çöreklenen işgalci güçler geldi. Keşke onlarla ilgili de modern bir işgal hikayesi olsa da okusak.

Elimden geldiğince okuyacağım kitabın en azından tür veya konu olarak bitirdiğim kitaba yakın olmasına çabalıyorum. O yüzden de savaş temasına devam ve sırada oldukça ilginç görünen Michael Grant - Ön Cephe var.

Herkese keyifli okumalar!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book in electronic format from Kindle on Amazon. I read it it with great enthusiasm as it was history which occured during my lifetime and in fact, my Army time was extended over the Berlin Wall Crisis in 1961. The Berlin Wall also was taken dowm in 1990 and I own a piece of it, given to me by the FBI Legat in Germany. you have never read a book by Leon Uris you are denying yourself a great literary experience as his writings are all historical in nature and very well researched . He is able to wrap a plot around historical events that not only entertain you but provide you with an excellent foundation for understanding the time of the story. I have read several Leon Uris books and all are excellent. The one I am missing is Exodus, his most famous work and it is now on my list to read. Armageddon, A Novel of Berlin, takes us through the occupation of Germany after World War II and gives us great insight into the mind of Nazi German and the mind of the soldiers of the USSR. It also exposess us to the genius of the American Spirit and the rescued German population. If you like 20th Century history, you must read this book it is both informative and rewarding in its reading.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to like this book. I really did. The book is about the occupation and fall of Berlin after WWII. The problem is, I never got to the part where the main character actually arrived in Berlin. After reading 30% of the book, padded with pages upon pages of history text type instruction on the psyche of the German mind, the Russian soldier, about Stalin and communism in Russia, was about to stick pins in my eyes. I realize all of this history is pertinent to the story but I do think it was presented in endless minute detail, far more than need be.

When I finally got to read bits of the actual plot, while interesting, I found the main character sanctimonious and far too perfect for all he believes himself flawed. The narrative tended to be a bit preachy and the overall "God Save America" Patriotism grated a bit on my non-American nerves after awhile. There are a lot of stereotype characters. The dialogue isn't what I would call sparkling but I've read worse. having said that, I thought the basic story was very good and there is a lot of research put into how life really was in Germany after the war. I just couldn't get around all the padding and I couldn't finish it.

[Ireney Berezniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is only my second novel by Leon Uris, having read and loved Mila 18 a few years ago. Uris is a fine story teller with a penchant for the dramatic and slavish attention to historical detail. However, I did not enjoy Armageddon quite as much. Uneven character and story development marred the quality of this work for me. The unadulterated adulation of American heroism was a little too contrived, and did not help the cause. I suppose certain attitudes depicted in the novel felt a little outdated in this day and age, but at the same time authentic of the times.

Regardless, this is a fine effort that inspired me to seek further reading material focusing on the events surrounding the Berlin airlift (the subject of this novel), and perhaps more importantly, reinforced my commitment to read more of the author :)

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of everything Leon Uris has written so this review may be a bit biased. This book is about Berlin right after WW2 and the fight for control of the city. He addresses the events from an American and Russian points of view, which is a bit different from any similar books I've read before. This was one of the saddest books of his in terms of the personal lives of the characters, but somehow still uplifting.

[John Devlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book I read when in the wee small hours of the morning sleep escaped me…so about a two year undertaking ten pages at a time sometime going weeks without reading…

Uris is a one shot Michener with less compassion and more Greek tragedy and interludes that sometime veer towards the almost comically non fiction. If you like your history with only a dollop of personality then he’s the guy for you.

Operation top hat was the enormous American effort to keep West Berlin free of Soviet rule. Uris’s feat is to make this heroic undertaking understandable while never sacrificing the immensity of the logistical challenge.

As this is my 1776th book read I at least got that nod off to the great old US of A…

[Mark Mortensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upon self-reflection I comprehend that I primarily enjoy fiction movies and nonfiction books. It is what it is. Therefore, I’m not a big fan of historical fiction books.

Lately I’ve become interested in the ever real dramatic clash of Capitalism versus Communism in East/West Berlin, Germany in the aftermath of WWII. Decades later these historical events still have not been fully documented, which begs for nonfiction authors to fill the void.

I was drawn to the novel Armageddon, as it covered the subject and Leon Uris had received much acclaim for the book. Uris issued a disclaimer in the book stating, “The possibility exists that persons living today may see themselves or be mistaken by the public as characters in the novel because of a duplication of posts, commands, or political positions…”. I wish his characters were real. His acknowledgement that Columbia Film Studios funded his research caught my eye, as I was hoping to now view the fictional movie, but apparently Columbia never took it to the “Big Screen”. All in all it’s a good book.

[Bonnie Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the best book I have read in years. I had no idea about what it was like in Germany at the end of WWII and knew nothing about the Berlin Airlift. This is a HUGE undertaking to read, over 800 pages, but so worth it. I haven't put it down since I started to read it 3 days ago. You will smile, laugh and cry. An absolutely great book - I think this is Leon Uri's masterpiece.

[Gina Whitlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much about the four-power agreement of the city of Berlin and how the iron curtain came to be. It made me proud to be American (that's been slipping lately because of our president) because we nurtured Germany into democracy. This is my first Leon Uris and won't be my last.

[Joy Cagil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, I read Armageddon on my Kindle, a novel I had wanted read to for a very long time. The book covers the events that took place in Berlin from 1945 to 1949. The novel begins with Sean O’Sullivan, whose brother Liam was killed by the Germans, being sent to Germany in 1944. Soon after that, his second brother Tim is killed, also, when his plane is downed. The death of both his brothers and his discovery of a concentration camp leaves Sean as a German-hater. Still throughout the novel, he does his best to turn Germany’s fate around to help build a new democratic nation, but when it comes to his falling in love with the German girl Ernestine whose father was a Nazi, he can’t find a way to overlook his brothers’ demises or his hatred of the Germans.

Although the above thread runs throughout the novel, there are many other interpersonal situations, relationships, and fantastic scenes because the book is much more than a failed love story. It is full of history, the clash of ideologies between Russians and the West, the good Germans versus the bad ones, and the ruin of a country and society after a terrible war. More than anything this story is about the success of the Berlin Airlift and indomitable spirit of humanity. The novel also boasts hordes of characters, most of whom meticulously drawn and presented.

As the novel’s general plot, Interaction among the people of Western nations and Russians, though having started in friendly terms, deteriorates over the years due to the ulterior motives of the Russians, leading to blockades and the airlift, which is precisely and methodically explained and shown through the actions of the characters. In fact, I am awed by the amount and expanse of research that must have gone into it. Plus the writing is exquisite as is the construction of the plot.

The book ends with the ending of the Russian blockade and the Airlift, signaling the beginning of the Cold War, aptly described by a General’s report. Even if one has read many novels and nonfiction about the aftermath of World War II, a reader may be able to find additional eye-openers in this book, which is close to 700 pages. Be warned that it takes a while to read it.

[Alex Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I sense the type of criticism levelled at this book is more-or-less of the same calibre as that put to other novels experiencing the misfortune not to have been written in the last decade or two.

Yes, of course it’s missing a certain amount of currently popular, enlightened political correctness. What did you expect? So what?

A work of it's time, but not outdated.

A good, not great, work of historical fiction, limited, like everything else not biblical, by the historical perspective of the period within which it was written.

What it lacks in individual character detail, or the stereotypical character development is offset by the recreation of an overall atmosphere (before the post-Vietnam period) which has been described as the period “when America was Great”.

Armedaggon sketches out the rudimentary beginnings of the Cold War as it goes along, a little gung-ho, perhaps. A little innocent and naive, perhaps. A little black & white, maybe.

But a novel faithful enough to its time to be useful and interesting to those of us who may have an intuitive grasp that, once upon a time, there was palpable, visceral justification for what is now just a dubious political slogan.

This was the first of Uris’s work that I've read. But, I assume there will be others.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never read a WWII book before but I feel this is one of the best books I’ve ever read in my life. I literally gave up sleeping until I finished it. Because my father in law was part of the Berlin airlift, I had personal interest in the subject but was so engaged with the story that I appreciated the history, the relationships and the eventual politics that were woven into this book. Although it was written in 1961, it feels like current events now because of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He still lives and thinks like it is 1947 and reading this book will explain why he does. Impossible to put down and enlightening about our current world we live in.

[Lara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up on this book. I couldn't read on... He groups everyone into these neat and tidy lil boxes- Americans are heroes. Germans are scum. Poles are rowdy drunks. Nazis are Pagans. Russians are animals.

On another note, before I got sick of the above, I enjoyed reading about WWII from this viewpoint. There was a lot of wonderfully descriptive details about what happened. Too bad, I would have liked to finish it. Perhaps I'll try again someday when I'm less politically correct and more able to stomach the crap.

[David Bruns · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am a Uris fan - I loved Trinity and Exodus. But, I was very disappointed with Armageddon. The characters seemed flat and wooden, the dialogue stilted and predictable. Great story, poor execution.

I soldiered on until, by chance, i happened across Wouk's The Caine Mutiny on my bookshelf. The contrast was stunning: instead of wading through lifeless prose, I was treated to Wouk's honed descriptions, vibrant characters and hair-raising action.

I was unable to finish Armageddon.

[Hannah]

Oh my God. I made it. I finished it. I didn't think it would ever happen. I thought that I would be reading this book for the rest of my life. For me, Leon Uris is a hit or miss author. I really enjoy some of his books and some of them (like this) fall so flat.

For one thing, there's too many characters. Leon couldn't keep up with all of them and we'd get these quick snapshots into their life and get interested and then move on to other characters. And it sounds like it's going to be about Berlin and the airlift...and it is. After 400 pages! That's right. We have 400 pages of "before Berlin".

And Leon got really into his characters writing reports and us reading them. And they were boring. And I didn't care.

And (SPOILER ALERT) - NO one really ends up happy. With all of these characters, you want at least one happy ending. Just one. And nothing. Nobody ended up happy. So I got through this book with very little pay out.

I just truly can't recommend not reading this book enough.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember being in high school and reading Armageddon, the sixth novel by American author, Leon Uris. My parents had the book sitting in their bookcase and I was intrigued by its cover. I suppose I also felt the length of the book might be a challenge, one that would make me feel like a “grown up” reader. I completed reading the book but discovered I lacked enough background in history to fully appreciate it.

Now that I am “considerably” older, know more about history, and have traveled in Berlin, I thought I might enjoy the novel more this second time around. While true that I was able to make more sense of what I was reading, I was saddened to discover that Leon Uris is a lesser writer than I remembered him to be. His strength lies in his research and ability to provide an in-depth historic background to his story but--at least in this novel--his dialogue, characters, and even plot, are mediocre at best.

Leon Uris was born in 1924 and died in 2003. The author of several historical novels including Battle Cry, Mitla Pass, Mila 18, Topaz, QB VII, and The Haj, his best-known work is his third novel, Exodus, published in 1958. I read all these many years ago and, despite my experience re-reading Armageddon, would like to revisit at least Exodus.

Born in the United States to Jewish American parents, Uris never completed high school but joined the Marines at the age of 17 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Those experiences formed the basis of his first novel, Battle Cry, published in 1953.

After leaving the military, Uris wrote for a newspaper but, after selling an article to Esquire Magazine in 1950, decided to try his hand at writing books.

After finding success with his first two novels, a public relations person tasked with making Americans more enthusiastic about the new country encouraged Uris to write a novel about the new country. Uris who had an intense interest in Israel, sold an idea for a film to MGM Studio then spent two years researching and interviewing thousands of people. The result was his novel and film, Exodus, which introduced thousands of Americans to Zionism, a Jewish nation in Palestine, and the Arab-Jewish conflict.

Exodus was translated into several languages and became an international bestseller though it is clearly biased against the Palestinians who had long been in the land.

A few years later, Uris began writing Armageddon, a novel set in Berlin as World War II in Europe ended.

With meticulous research and detail, Uris explains how the subsequent division of territory among the British, French, American, and Soviet countries, gradually deteriorated as military and civilian personnel began to de-Nazify Germany and rebuild the country. Ending with the Soviet blockade of Berlin and the American airlift to supply the people during the harsh winter, Uris sets the scene for the forty years of the Cold War.

Though the book includes numerous characters, there are three major ones: 1) US Captain Sean O’Sullivan who is largely in charge of the rebuilding of Berlin. An American patriot, he despises the Germans and the Russians yet tries his best to be professional in his actions. 2) Soviet Igor Karlovy who is O’Sullivan’s counterpart. With hands tied by his superiors, Karlovy slowly comes to understand that not all Germans were Nazis. 3) Ernestine Falkenstein, the niece of the new mayor (Oberburgermeister) of Berlin who looks at the victors in contempt as they reshape Berlin and Germany but soon falls in love with O’Sullivan.

Though I was impressed by all the research behind the story and by Uris’s attempt to bring clarity to an incredibly complex historic event, I frequently felt the need to skim this book of more than 600 pages. I also found myself “bothered” by the “flag-waving” that tainted his research; Uris was clearly writing at a time well-into the Cold War. However, if you like historical fiction and novels about patriotism and World War II, this is one you might enjoy.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Armageddon:A Novel of Berlin provides the reader an excellent opportunity to learn about the period in Germany, particularly in Berlin, following World War II. As with most historical novels, Leon Uris changes the names of the primary players in this historical setting. For example, true historical initiatives and events such as the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and Berlin Airlift are described, but the novel's characters who are instrumental in acting upon those affairs within the German theater are fictional. Notwithstanding Mr. Uris' fictional portrayals, he demonstrates time and again the comprehensive research he accomplished in creating this novel. Notwithstanding the fictional creation of his characters, they were not only believable, but authentic human beings with plausible plights which most likely occurred during that time period in that part of the world. Put another way, the book is so convincing, the reader feels a sympathetic relationship with the characters involved. By the end of the novel, a perceptive reader will have increased his/her understanding of that time period, and finishing the book will cause a poignant loss. In addition, since the book was published in 1964, political correctness did not distort the historical facts. To put it simply, Leon Uris simply told us the way it was.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Armageddon is another one of Uris’s sweeping sagas, addressing the fate of Germany during post-WWII recovery. It focuses on the relationship between the victorious conquerors (Americans, French, British and Russians) and their former Nazi enemies and becomes a true battle between the Allies and Communist U.S.S.R over coveted Berlin. It is a story of redemption as the Germans rebuild their country, try to salvage their tarnished reputation, and fight a communist regime that is worse than Hitler. There are so many absorbing individual stories intertwined throughout the dense narrative. While some technical details (logistics, plane and flight specs, etc.) were mildly tedious, they were entirely necessary to understand the vast effort that went into supplying a blockaded Berlin and keeping its citizens alive. This is another book in which I will praise Uris for his immense grasp of history and detail and his straightforward yet captivating writing style.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my third Leon Uris book, after Mila 18 and Trinity, and despite being relatively short (!) I found it to be the most plodding and least satisfying. The terrific first half inverts the standard WWII dynamic by placing the conquered Germans as withered husks to be exploited by foreign powers, starved and raped by occupying forces, and almost pitied. Then in the second half, the board gets set for the long chess-game showdown between the US and the Soviets. That should be the best part of the book, yet it felt uneven and difficult to appreciate how much was really at stake - in part because the characters introduced toward the end are one-dimensional, and in part because the author gives little insight into the Soviet side of affairs.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't finish. Quit at 40% complete. I didn't like the over-dramatic dialogue and the very black-and-white portrayal of the various nationalities: Americans, very very good; Nazis, very bad; Communists very very bad. I realize this is an older book and it definitely reflects the attitude of the time. Normally I don't have a problem with this, but combined with the stilted dialogue and the lack of any characters I cared about, I just didn't want to waste any more time on it.

[Chloe Stowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating read that kept me coming back night after night. The last 100 pages, however, seemed rushed and little disjointed from the rest of the book.

Uris' research skills and his talent of weaving historical facts into his fictional storyline are amazing.

For some reason, I had trouble connecting with several of the major characters. So, at the end, when everything comes to a head, the emotional "oomph" of the events was really lacking.

[Steve Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Armageddon

This is a truly marvelous book. It tells the story of the Berlin airlift which has not been adequately told in my view and young generations have no clue how important this story is to the development of a free and democratic Europe. Inspiration and joy, sadness and heartache beginning to end like all of his great books.