Reviews for Conflict and crises

The average rating for Conflict and crises based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-07-18 00:00:00 Raymond Rosario This book is a collection of essays, articles, and speeches written by historian George F. Kennan in the 80's and 90's at the tail end of the Cold War. He was in the U.S. Foreign Service from the 1920's to the post WW2 era and even served briefly as American ambassador to the USSR. His views on the USSR, Eastern and Central Europe, the Cold War, American foreign policy, and the sometimes baleful effects of the American political process on foreign policy are very interesting, sometimes surprising. Great read for those interested in Cold War history. Also particularly educational for people who may have lived through the 80's or 90's as children, vaguely remember newscasts and commentary about these events but weren't old enough to understand much of it. I learned a lot reading this book. Since each chapter is a self-contained article or speech, the book lends itself well to reading in short spurts, and the chapters don't have to be read in order.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-07-18 00:00:00 Joseph Campbell I read this book in particular because I wanted to know what the historian and former ambassador to the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia thought of the turmoil of the late eighties and early nineties which culminated in the war in then my country. What I found in the book was a chapter with concise recent history of the Balkans. It did not quench my thirst which is more a compliment than a reproach to the author. Naturally, several chapters are dedicated to the Soviet Union / Russia. There, a reader of other works of Kennan will find some repetition, but I value his insights and educated opinions so much that it did not bother me at all. A relatively short paragraph on Ukraine is more telling than hundreds of recent news from this troubled country. This book might be a worthwhile overture into Kennan's work for uninitiated readers.