New York: Stein and Day, 1973. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. 25 cm, viii, [4], 278, [2] pages. Illustrations. Maps Occasional footnotes. Appendix A, B, and C. Bibliography. Index of Proper Names. Index of Subjects. Ex-library with a bookplate and few of the usual library markings. Eric Morris is a British military historian who taught at Sandhurst, England's Royal Military Academy. Derived from a Kirkus review: Morris has chosen the Berlin blockade of 1948-49 as the centerpiece for this history of the Cold War from 1945 to 1961. Morris transcends mere military lore with a broad, rather urbane cold-warrior approach, conceding Western blunders and affronts. In discussing the Berlin question, he traces Stalin's need for guarantees against future German rearmament and revanchism, as well as for reparations. The book addresses the significance of Western currency reform, a move to penetrate the Eastern European economies, which, like the outflow of skilled workers from East Germany ten years later, was intolerable to the Russians. The blockade itself is well-narrated; more interesting is the counterpoint between Berlin's internal life and global Cold War events -- the Marshall Plan, the formation of NATO, the birth of the Adenauer government, etc. Despite Cold-War intensification, Morris argues that, with the Korean War settled, the 1954 Big Four meeting could have reached a significant accord on Berlin. More