Winner of the 2004 Marshall Shulman Book Prize, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies "Harrison has turned over every archival rock in reconstructing the tense relationship between the Soviet Union and Walter Ulbricht's East Germany, from Stalin's death until the construction of the Berlin Wall... Harrison is not alone in teaching us that third parties played a significant ... Read morerole in shaping the Cold War, but hers is a particularly striking example."
Foreign Affairs "A smoothly written, clearly organized, and massively documented account ... [which] deserves to be read by every serious student of post-war Europe."
W.J. Lavery, History: Reviews of New Books "This aptly entitled book makes an outstanding contribution to what has become known as 'the new Cold War history.' Lucidly written and fascinating to read, it demonstrates how, under a unique set of circumstances, a satellite state in the depths of existential crisis could manipulate a superpower."
Peter Grieder, Central European History "Harrison has written a thoughtful, fluent, and meticulously researched study of Soviet-East German relations between 1953 and 1961. Driving the Soviets Up the Wall is a fine example of the new scholarship on the cold war that has emerged since 1991 and a rewarding read for anybody interested in finding out exactly how and why the Berlin Wall came to be built."
Alan McDougall, Journal of Modern History Show Less