Great overview of diplomacy between the Soviet Union and the MIddle East
934236
Oles Smolansky does an excellent job of summarizing the relations between the soviet government under Khrushchev and the Middle East.  The book covers a wide range of time and divides it into three periods. The first period covers the rise of Soviet influence and the paring with Egypt. The middle part looks at the time when Egypt and Iraq force a split within Soviet foreign policy and Khrushchev begins to lose his way. The final part looks at the period where Soviet influence is on the decline.  This is a great book for a summary of what occurred between the Soviet Union and the Middle East. It is an overview however so if you are looking at one country in particular you can probably be better served by going more specific. The conclusions it reaches are interesting and in the end Khrushchev's policies are essentially failures.  The Soviet Union declines in prominence in this area and does not regain its former status.  Overall an enjoyable read and I would recommend for those interested in diplomatic, soviet or middle eastern history.
2655429
I would recommend this book to both people with deep knowledge of the Middle East and the novice readers on the subject. It has something for everyone.

The book provides dramatic inner workings of his administration and various one-on-one conversations he had with Arab and Israeli leaders. This rare insight to intricate nuances of the major events and personalities that shaped this conflict makes this book compulsively readable.

This book's chief usefulness is in fleshing out the narratives of the Israeli administration about various issues for example:

On "Barak's general offer" at Camp David he states:

The best offer to the Palestinians by Clinton, not Barak, had been to withdraw 20 percent of the settlers, leaving more than 180,000 in 209 settlements, covering about 10 percent of the occupied land, including land to be "leased" and portions of the Jordan River valley and East Jerusalem.

The percentage figure is misleading, since it usually includes only the actual footprints of the settlements. There is a zone with a radius of about four hundred meters around each settlement within which Palestinians cannot enter. In addition, there are other large areas that would have been taken or earmarked to be used exclusively by Israel, roadways that connect the settlements to one another and to Jerusalem, and "life arteries" that provide the settlers with water, sewage, electricity, and communications. These range in width from five hundred to four thousand meters, and Palestinians cannot use or cross many of these connecting links. This honeycomb of settlements and their interconnecting conduits effectively divide the West Bank into at least two noncontiguous areas and multiple fragments, often uninhabitable or even unreachable, and control of the Jordan Valley denies Palestinians any direct access eastward into Jordan. About one hundred military checkpoints completely surround Palestinians and block routes going into or between Palestinian communities, combined with an unaccountable number of other roads that are permanently closed with large concrete cubes or mounds of earth and rocks.

There was no possibility that any Palestinian leader could accept such terms and survive, but official statements from Washington and Jerusalem were successful in placing the entire onus for the failure on Yasir Arafat. (pp. 151-2)

And on the wall that Israel is building he stated:

"Imprisonment wall" is more descriptive than "security fence." (p. 174)

On Israel not honoring its commitment (Even Camp David Agreement with Egypt)

The overriding problem is that, for more than a quarter century, the actions of some Israeli leaders have been in direct conflict with the official policies of the United States, the international community, and their own negotiated agreements. Israel's continued control and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary obstacles to a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land. In order to perpetuate the occupation, Israeli forces have deprived their unwilling subjects of basic human rights. No objective person could personally observe existing conditions in the West Bank and dispute these statements. (pp. 207-9)

The bottom line is this: Peace will come to Israel and the Middle East only when the Israeli government is willing to comply with international law, with the Roadmap for Peace, with official American policy, with the wishes of a majority of its own citizens--and honors its own previous commitments--by accepting its legal borders. All Arab neighbors must pledge to honor Israel's right to live in peace under these conditions. The United States is squandering international prestige and goodwill and intensifying global anti-American terrorism by unofficially condoning or abetting the Israeli confiscation and colonization of Palestinian territories. (p. 216)

I am sure this book will be in great demand unless the Israeli apologists and lobbies succeed in blocking media outlets from reviewing it as was the faith of Norman Finkelstein's Beyond Chutzpa.
4760868
Very interesting book on the cold war with the Soviet Union, and how our president Ronald Reagan take advantege of the situation.
1315818
This is a most interesting exposition of the importance of the role played by individuals in the field of international relations. Mr. Lippman, a specialist in Middle Eastern political history, focuses on the career USMC Col. Bill Eddy, born in Sidon (Lebanon),the son of Presbyterian missionaries, who became a major player and adviser to the U.S. government from the earliest contacts in the 1920s with the nations (Saudi Arabia in particular)that were newly formed out of the shambles of the Ottoman Empire through World War II and into the Cold War. A subtext is the importance of experience of American religious missionaries and their offspring in the area during the formative years of the United States' relations . This book will be an important addition to the library of anyone either expert or merely interested in the history of American political, military and commercial relations with the still relatively young nations of that region.
4483666
Robert Service is one of the best writers on Communism and their leaders.  This book is about the Communist leaders ending with Gorbachev and Yeltsin.  It is also about the principal American leaders, mostly Reagan and his advisors.  It is also about the British, French and German leaders.  The detail is terrific.  This is the best summary I have seen on the end of the Cold War, and I have read a lot of them.  I am very familiar with the history of the Cold War.  For example, I was in Berlin in 1961 when the Wall went up.  I have travelled to Russia in 1972 and 2000.  I travelled through East Europe in 1972.  The Poles just hated the Russians.  I have travelled through the Baltic States, and they detest the Russians also.

Service did an awesome amount of research.  He presents the various factions in the US and USSR that were fighting for positions on disarmament and other key issues vs. just stating a monolithic US position and monolithic USSR position.

This book is primarily a political history although it does touch on some economic issues and some military issues.  For a more in depth treatment of the military issues, I recommend "The Collapse of the Soviet Military" by General Odom.  I have yet to find a good summary on the decline of the USSR economy.

In summary, if you are interested in the end of the Cold War, this is the definitive book.  Well done Mr. Service.
1803779
Accounts on Soviet personal reflections of the Cold War and beyond can now be uncovered through the Oral History of the Soviet Baby Boomers.  This book not only draws on personal testimonies of interviewees, but also provides a concise historical background - making the book enlightening and fun to read.  My wife downloaded the Kindle version of this book and brought her back memories on similar experiences in Romania during the Cold War.  The most intriguing aspect of this book is uncovering a joyful, but also painful past of Soviet life in a down-to-earth perspective.  Further, this Oral History goes beyond the task of exploring the post-Stalinist generation; the "Soviet Dream" was a mix of ideology and reality that is intellectually examined in this book.  By undertaking the challenges in conducting Oral History, Soviet Baby Boomers has made an excellent presentation of what Soviet life meant for sixty students that graduated from two selective schools in the former Soviet Union.
4258464
Iran at the Crossroads pulls together Irans tumultuous 20th century history, the reasons for and results of the Islamic Revolution, its precarious economy, its regional and global foreign policy, and Western policies toward Iran in a clear and easily digested package, written by Amin Saikal, a professor of political science and Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. This is essential reading for those who want to understand current events and don't have an Iranian background. I wish I had read it a couple months ago, when I misjudged who would be elected Speaker of the Assembly of Experts. Saikal doesnt go into much detail about the personalities in the various branches of government, but this book would have helped me understand why the reformists were unlikely to exert influence over the choice of Speaker.

In his introduction, the author attributes the resilience of Irans political system since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 to a political order that provides enough internal elasticity to cope with domestic and foreign adversity, the opportunities occasioned by the behavior of foreign actors in the Middle East, and a foreign policy with pragmatic rather than ideological goals. The next three chapters bring the reader to where Iran is now, domestically and in relation to the United States and the West. One chapter takes Iran from ancient times through many forms of government, occupations and modernization, including the monarchies of the 20th century, until the Islamic Revolution of 1979. This is essential to understanding the goals of the revolutionaries and Irans attitude toward Western powers.

Another chapter examines Ayatollah Khomeinis vision of a Shia Islamic polity and how he made it a reality, or attempted to do so, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which included a brutal crackdown on opposition in the early years of the Republic, followed by room for both a jihadi revolutionary approach to Islamic government and a ijtihadi reformist, creative approach. The back and forth between these two ways of interpreting an Islamic order have characterized Irans politics ever since, as seen in conservative or Principlist factions, reformist factions, and moderate or pragmatists, such as Irans present President Rouhani. This chapter follows the succession of Ayatollah Khamenei to Supreme Leader, Hashemi Rafsanjanis frustrated presidency, Pres. Mohammed Khatanis failed overtures to the West, followed by conservative Pres. Ahmadinejad.

Pres. Hassan Rouhani and the evolution of US-Iran relationships culminating in the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2015 are accorded their own chapter. Helpfully, Saikal traces the origins and nature of the mutual hostility that has existed between the US and Iran, which began in 1953 with a CIA-backed coup and reached a nadir in 1979 with the end of Iran as a US client state. Another chapter analyzes Irans prospects for the future in light of its unique Islamic system of governance, entrenched oil-based rentier economy, relations with the West, and complex regional situation, including the challenges that face Pres. Rouhani as he tries to make an unwieldy system more responsive. Amin Saikal makes no value judgment on whether an Islamic government is good or bad. He lays out Irans strengths, problems, and goals, which is indispensible in the current climate.
4927345
Scholarly and illuminating, Richmond's book colorfully documents official, government Soviet-American cultural exchanges that began after Stalin died in 1953, and helped to break down barriers of fear and ignorance, at a time that many of us felt the Cold War was freezing all contact.
These cultural exchanges involved books, movies, writers, performing artists, scientists, technologists, think tanks, politicans, and scholars.
Richmond writes eloquently, liberally using quotes of people who took part in the exchanges.  One was organized by Gerald Mikkelson, professor of Slavic languages and literature at the University of Kansas, and it flourished in the 1970s and 80s.  From several days to several weeks, Soviet writers came to the university, experienced the Midwest, and went away forever changed.
"Those visits to Kansas," says Mikkelson, "not only broadened their horizons culturally and ideologically, and gave them plenty of food for thought that sometimes got translated into specific literary works or images, but it added to their prestige and emboldened them at home in their efforts to make the Soviet Union a more livable place for writers and people in the other creative and performing arts."
Imagine a Soviet writer being plunked down in Kansas!
And other new places!
The same for Americans in the Soviet Union!
Some Soviet scholars were not allowed to take part, because the Soviet Foreign Travel Commission didn't think they were "reliable" to travel abroad, for whatever reasons.  One of them was Soviet professor George Mirsky, a Middle East expert, who whole-heartedly encouraged his students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations to go on such exchanges.
Mirsky writes, "Before the exchange, people believed that Western society, no matter how wealthy and affluent, was narrowly materialistic, devoid of any humanism and spirituality, selfish and arrogant, indifferent to moral, cultural, and artistic values, full of hostility for Russians and of anti-Communist crusading spirit.
"What amazed them was American hospitality, warmth, willingness to oblige, civility and politeness, lack of ethnic prejudices, care for disabled, richness of artistic life, pluralism of opinions, abundance of associations.  The Soviets were able for the first time in their lives to see a functioning civil society.  This was a great surprise...The exchange visitors would never be the same again."
As a musician and lover of the arts, I especially enjoyed the chapter on performing arts, with highlights of American impresario Sol Hurok's success in bringing Soviet musicians, dance troupes, ice shows, and circuses to the U.S.  As a child, I had seen some of these performances, but not been aware of their long-range effect!  Reciprocal trips took such Amerian writers as Norman Cousins, Robert Lowell, and Edward Albee, and such groups as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the American Ballet Theatre, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to the Soviet Union.
These cultural exchanges paved the way for the the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev to the presidency of the Soviet Union.  Gorbachev and his wife had done a great deal of foreign travel in the 1970s and 80s, and loved it.  They saw that another world existed beyond their country.  As president, Gorbachev opened the door even farther and moved the Soviet Union forward to help end the Cold War.
I love this book because it is informative, inspiring, and written with obvious relish and passion.  Richmond was there, working on these exchanges, helping to get people talking, and opening up their minds.  He records this first-hand.  Who else can tell such a great story so well?  I recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn, to understand more about history, and to appreciate the people who changed it.  Bravi!
2354121
Chomsky does an excellent job of presenting the flip (out of the mainstream media) side to this delicate issue. His analysis of US policy towards Israel over the decades since 1948 is both fascinating and insightful. Although it covers the issue only to the early 1980's, this is an excellent text for anyone who is trying to better understand the factors that forged the current US-Israeli-Palestinian relationship.
1556673
This is an excellent history of the Russian presidency from the one USSR president Gorbachev through to today with fully half the book on Putin and the power of the Russian presidency under his two terms, then tandem with Medvedev as he followed the law and left after two terms, but then returned as the elected president since. To understand the workings of the presidency in Russia and how in such a short time the office has evolved and set Russia on its current course, this is an excellent book for that.
3183345
Leslie Stein's book provides a detailed, comprehensive analysis of Israel's history from 1948 to 1967. Stein writes clearly, with a sharp eye for significant details. He makes invaluable contribution to our understanding of the events that shaped Israel in the first two decades of its establishment.

Stein takes us on a fascinating tour, highlighting major and lesser events in the history of young Israel. In this rich discussion, readers learn about the discrimination against Israeli Arabs (p. 239), how and why Israel developed its nuclear capacity (p. 247), the Eichman trial (p. 231), the economy (p. 229), the kibbutz (p. 136), the Wadi Salib riots (p. 237), the Elie Cohen extraordinary espionage success in Syria (p. 251), the Samu vengeance operation (p. 259),  and Israel's foreign affairs with African as well as other countries (p. 260). Readers gain insights into decision-making processes that were often affected by internal rivalries and personal antipathies as well as by external powers. For instance, when the third Chief of Staff, Mordechai Makleff, stepped down from office he wanted Yitzhak Rabin to succeed him, but because of Rabin's prominent involvement in the Palmah which Ben-Gurion regarded as having been under the sway of leftists, Moshe Dayan was nominated. Ben-Gurion had some misgivings as to Dayan's integrity and personality but the young Director General of the Defence Ministry, Shimon Peres, was able to reassure him (p. 115). Golda Meir resented the self-assertiveness of Shimon Peres whom she regarded as being "excessively ambitious and cynical" (p. 216). She also chided Ben-Gurion for precipitating Isser Harel's resignation from the directorship of the Shin Bet and the Mossad. Meir had close personal ties with Harel (p. 226).
1916304
I really enjoyed this book.  It gives you a good look into what life was like in the Soviet Union.  I have read academic books on the country and this one is an excellent augment to them.
3403052
Lawrence Freedman is a superbly accomplished historian of the Cold War, and his expertise is on display in "The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy", first published in 1981 and most recently updated in 2003.  Freedman explores in detail the struggle of the nuclear-armed states, beginninng with the US in 1945, to define a credible military strategy in which nuclear weapons might be used to achieve a reasonable political end short of annihilation.

Freedman's narratives carries the reader from Trinity, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki in 1945 up to the eve of the US-led intervention into Iraq in 2003.  Much of the book is taken up with the long Cold War confrontation between the US and USSR, the powers that accumulated the largest strategic arsenals, dominated the debate over strategy, and were nearly the opponents in a nuclear confrontation over Cuba in 1962.  Freedman devotes space along the way to briefer discussions of the attempts at nuclear strategy by the United Kingdom, France, China, and in late chapters, India, Pakistan, and North Korea.

In the end, Freedman cannot bring himself to accept that nuclear weapons have a function beyond deterring the use of other nuclear weapons. This might not be an entirely satisfying conclusion after over 450 pages; the author was clearly reluctant to explore the dynamics of limited exchanges.  However, his presentation is even-handed and he does not foreclose other lines of thought.  This reviewer wishes he had spent more time on the present instance of deterrence between a small nuclear state such as North Korea and a larger nuclear state such as the US.

"The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy" is highly recommended to students of international and military affairs, as a topic unlikely to go away in the near term.
3330360
One of my friends saw me reading this book, and stated that such a short book could not adequately cover Soviet politics.  This book is the exception and McAuley points out the main themes of the politics of the Soviet Union.  For those who want both a basic and advanced educaion on the Soviet political system, this is a nice book.  McAuley breaks the Soviet period down into eight chapters and covers the stages of Soviet politics.  The following were the basic stages:  Revolution, State Building, Industrialization and Collectivization, Terror, Khrushchev and Party Rule, the Administrative-Command System under Brezhnev, and Perestroika and the End of Party Rule.

I found this book a nice analysis of the Soviet Union's politics.  It covered in few pages what other authors would convey in 500 pages.  This is a nice concise analysis of the subject.
3177901
It was a clear read.  Excellent exposition on an obscure campaign.  I appreciated the ties into the larger diplomatic scheme and follow on actions of Stalin, Hitler and Tojo.  The author makes a convincing case for the battles impact on the Hitler/Stalin pact, the ability for Stalin to move his forces from Siberia to Moscow and the influence on Japan choosing the southern strategy.  And the experience Zhukov gained with combined arms and large formations.
40587
The Russian tsars and later, the Soviets, poured great amounts of money and vast resources into exploration of their Arctic landsin good part to discern some means for opening a sea route from the European Russian lands to those in the far east. Despite the importance of this effort in the history of Russia, there is little scholarship of it in English-language publications outside a couple Arctic-focused academic journals (and these are in turn very hard to find), so this book is a welcome contribution to the literature. I believe it was first published in 1952 and this is a reprint, so I have to commend Cambridge on reprinting something that they had to realize would serve a rather small readership. The Russian-language scholarship is more comprehensive, yet it is very difficult to find even in academic libraries in the United States. This volume should serve 90% of students of Soviet or Russian history who are interested in the topic.

As for the book itself, it's a bit too short, too thin, and lacking in detail in places, but Armstrong's writing is overall very good if dry and will provide a robust introduction to Russian/Soviet efforts at exploration of the Arctic up to around the middle of the 20th century. Again, it's a reprint so some more current information or more current findings on historical information is not in this book, but in general it covers with great scope and decent depth. There is a lot on later Cold War-era Soviet developmentespecially air bases and the likethat is tied into the Northern Sea Route and that is not covered here but this is still a good place (and one of the only places, indeed) to start on the topic of the Russian Arctic and maritime exploration.
2213097
I will give S.M. Plokhy, he does try to tell the story of Yalta from the basis of what happened and what the actual dynamics were behind it.  Gone are the ideas of certain groups being sold out by some evil conspiracy, this work focuses on the fact that a lot of what went on at Yalta was a combination of realpolitik, and the first fractures in the World War II grand alliance. The book does a great job of demonstrating what was accomplished during the conference and what took place.

This is a very interesting book for those who would like a largely unbiased view of the Yalta conference. Plokhy does a very good job of portraying each party has not totally pure but also with a strong argument to back their own desire.  This book is full of the shades of gray that show how any war is settled.