| Russia Leaves the War - Soviet-American Relations, 1917-1920, Volume I (1956) |
| Front Cover | Book Details | Back Cover | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes/Review |
| Book Description: Hardback in very good condition with a very good minus dust jacket. Dust jacket is in protective mylar brodart sleeve Binding: Hardcover Book Condition: Very Good Book Price: US$ 8.00 Shipping Price: US$ 4.50 --------------------------------------------------------- Kennan worked for the US Foreign Service in Germany, Eastern Europe, and the USSR, was fluent in German and Russian, and possessed a keen intellect. Having spent decades in diplomatic service, he was an expert in the workings, the protocols, and the mechanics of international relations. Kennan was uniquely qualified, then, to research and write this book. (At the time it was to be the first of a trilogy but only two were written. "The Decision to Intervene" is the second.) Because of his experience, he knew where to look for source documents. Because of his facility of language he did not have to rely on translators. And his analysis is incisive. The book is really about what happens to a handful of Americans working in Petrograd during the Bolshevik revolution and the following five months. Only historians know who these people were - these are not major historical figures. Certainly, major historical figures play big parts in the book, but they're in supporting roles. This book is really about one (or two, or three, depending on how you count) of the biggest failures of diplomacy. It's a story of intrigue, but also of missed opportunities and missed communication. It's about national goals and personal desires. I loved the depth of detail in the book. It covers short enough of a time frame and few enough characters to make it a book about people as well as a book about big events. There are loads of fun little gems, too. One was about which railroad coach was more prestigious, the "Red" or the "Blue"? A silly question when fleeing Petrograd in the teeth of a renewed German offensive, but important to the Chinese diplomats: they didn't want the Japanese to get better treatment. Another was about the fate of a century of American embassy records which were missing for 17 years until they were found in the stables of the Norwegian embassy. This book won the Pulitzer Prize, Bancroft Prize, Francis Parkman Prize, and the National Book Award. |