Caviar and Commissars: The Experiences of a U. S. Naval Officer in Stalin's Russia Book

Kemp Tolley guides readers through his world as a naval intelligence officer in Asia, Europe, and Soviet Russia between 1935 and 1944. One of only a few naval officers fluent in Russian, he developed relationships with people from many walks of life. From the top brass in Moscow, where he served as a naval attache to the White Russian emigres in Shanghai and the peasants of Archangel, he provides a sympathetic and realistic appraisal of the people and their vast country. His absorbing tale describes his adventures during a month-long journey on a trans-Siberian train, a long-sought-after inspection of a Soviet warship viewed through the haze of innumerable vodka toasts, and state banquets with Stalin and Churchill. Scenes of starving stevedores wolfing down scraps of raw meat thrown out by American ships contrast with accounts of lavish nights at the ballet escorted by elegant women. Complemented by numerous period photographs culled from the author's albums.