"The lively, immersive story of the race to seize Berlin in the aftermath of World War II that fired the starting gun for the Cold War"-- After the 1945 Yalta Conference, Berlin-- along with the rest of Germany-- was to be carved up among the victorious powers. On paper, it seemed a pragmatic solution. In reality, once the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union were no longer united by the common purpose of defeating Germany, they wasted little time reverting to their prewar hostility toward one another. Milton introduces readers to individuals like America's explosive Frank "Howlin' Mad" Howley, a brusque sharp-tongued colonel with loathing for all Russians. Howley fought an intensely personal battle against his nemesis, General Alexander Kotikov, commandant of the Soviet sector. They were flawed individuals who were determined to win, and Milton shows that they had a shaping force on the modern world- one that's still felt today. -- adapted from jacket