Caught between Roosevelt and Stalin: America's Ambassadors to Moscow [Hardcover]

Dennis J. Dunn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Historical opinion has traveled the spectrum from loving to hating Roosevelt, and Dunn (director of international studies, Southwest Texas State Univ.) is clearly in the disliking camp. Basing his study on research in the United States and the newly opened Russian archives, Dunn tells again the story of U.S.-Soviet relations during the war. According to Dunn, FDR underestimated Stalin's capacity for evil and tragically ignored the advice of his ambassadors. Dunn also believes, as many others have, that FDR was blinded by his naive faith that the Soviet Union was evolving into a social democracy. Dunn treats FDR's personal diplomacy harshly, yet for this reason his book can serve as a starting point for another round of reassessments of FDR and his presidency. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.?Edward Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Demonstrates clearly... the struggle between FDR and the state department concerning divergent interpretations of Stalin, Stalinism, and the Soviet Union" -- Amos Perlmutter, editor, Journal of Strategic Studies

"The first study to incorporate the history of all the ambassadors and aides who succeeded William C. Bullitt, the first U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union." -- Canadian Review of American Studies

"What is sure to excite discussion is his assertion that Roosevelt, by separating democracy from morality, misunderstood and propped up Stalinist Russian and ironically contributed to the postponement of its fall until the 1990's." -- Choice

"Dunn has drawn upon Soviet, British, and American sources to produce a well-written account of Roosevelt's policies toward the Soviet Union and his relationships with U.S. diplomatic envoys in Moscow." -- H-Net Reviews

"Dunn provides vivid intellectual-political portraits of the five ambassadors who represented President Franklin Roosevelt in Embassy Moscow." -- International History Review

"A valuable contribution for the study of a complex and difficult period in the relationship of the greatest powers during the crucial years 1933-1945." -- John Lukacs

"An excellent book.... Will remain a diplomatic classic for years if not decades to come." -- Journal of Slavic Military Studies

"A superbly written, well-researched book that examines in-depth the US-Soviet relationship in the years preceding and during World War II through the eyes of the US's first ambassadors to Moscow." -- Journal of Slavic Military Studies

"Dunn treats FDR's personal diplomacy harshly, yet for this reason his book can serve as a starting point for another round of reassessments of FDR and his presidency. Recommended." -- Library Journal

"Descriptions of the ambassadors personalities and ideologies are insightful portrayals of the upper-crust types who served as America's top diplomats in Moscow, and they personalize what can often be a dry topic." -- Publishers Weekly

"Demolishes some of the conventional explanations for why Franklin Roosevelt accepted arrangements at Yalta that doomed Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe to Stalinist domination.... A brilliant contribution to understanding what happened." -- Robert K. German, Austin Council on Foreign Affairs

"Roosevelt's admirers may be shocked, but Dunn has written a well-researched, fascinating history of Soviet-American relations at the highest level." -- Virginia Quarterly Review

"Dunn has mastered the challenge of connecting each ambassador's experiences with the larger narrative of Roosevelt's policies toward the Soviet Union and the flow of events in Asia and Europe." -- American Historical Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky; 1St Edition edition (December 24, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813120233
• ISBN-13: 978-0813120232
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,813,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellently done, September 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Caught between Roosevelt and Stalin: America's Ambassadors to Moscow (Hardcover)

Examining Soviet-American relations by studying the lives of the various ambassadors Roosevelt dispatched to Moscow is an especially clever device, and one that has not been used by anyone else. Dr. Dunn has done an excellent job: his writing style flows nicely and his research is first-rate. In addition to being highly informative, this book is simply good to read.

This book would be useful to anyone who seeks to understand the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States during the 1930s and 40s. It also helps illustrate how the Soviet Union worked and gives interesting insight into the personality of Stalin himself.

People who are particularly fond of Franklin Roosevelt might not like some of Dr. Dunn's conclusions, however. Be warned.