A study of Eisenhower's policies during the second Berlin Crisis. The Soviet Berlin initiative marks an important epoch in the history of the Cold War. In 1958, it plunged the world into a crisis which at times evoked the danger of a global nuclear conflict. The author studies the diplomatic relationships with the American allies and the Soviet Union, together with the Western allies secret military contingency plans. The comparative approach allows the analysis to surmount the traditional barrier between military and diplomatic history and affords insights into the function of political and administrative institutions in the American government's decision-making process.