On March 10, 1952, almost a decade before the Berlin Wall existed, the U.S.S.R. controversially proposed the creation of a reunified, rearmed and neutral Germany. A year before Stalin's death, this was the last overture he tendered on "the German Question." However, the bid failed and Germany remained divided for another 38 years. Why? One can understand neither the Cold War nor the eventual reunification of Germany in 1990 without understanding this 1952 incident. The world in which we live now was created in no small part by the backroom decisions during a few months of 1952. This book on...