German-American relations during the years 1961-1963 were characterized by tension and disagreement as President John F. Kennedy attempted to redefine America's commitment to the goal of German reunification, one of the major foreign policy priorities of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Dr Mayer's book focuses on how this process of redefinition affected the Berlin Wall Crisis of 1961-1962. He also delved deeply to look at the way in which Adenauer overcame the hostility displayed by the American Government toward the Franco-German Treaty of January 1963 which Adenauer believed was a necessary and historic component of his policy of reconciliation with France. Ultimately, Mayer looks at how the Adenauer-kennedy era impacts on contemporary relations between America and a united Germany.