The Kremlinologist: Llewellyn E Thompson : America's man in Cold War Moscow
Winner of the New Mexico/Arizona Book Award for Best Biography
Against the sprawling backdrop of the Cold War, The Kremlinologist revisits some of the twentieth century's greatest conflicts as seen through the eyes of its hardest working diplomat, Llewellyn E Thompson. From the wilds of the American West to the inner sanctums of the White House and the Kremlin, Thompson became an important advisor to presidents and a key participant in major global events, including the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. Yet unlike his contemporaries Robert S. McNamara and Dean Rusk, who considered Thompson one of the most crucial Cold War actors and the "unsung hero" of the Cuban Missile Crisis, he has not been the subject of a major biography--until now.
Thompson's daughters Jenny and Sherry Thompson skillfully and thoroughly document his life as an accomplished career diplomat. In vigorous prose, they describe how Thompson joined the Foreign Service both to feed his desire for adventure and from a deep sense of duty. They also detail the crucial role he played as a negotiator unafraid of compromise. Known in the State Department as "Mr. Tightlips," Thompson was the epitome of discretion. People from completely opposite ends of the political spectrum lauded his approach to diplomacy and claimed him as their own.
Refuting historical misinterpretations of the Berlin Crisis, the Austrian State Treaty, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Thompsons tell their father's fascinating story. With unprecedented access to Thompson's FBI dossier, State Department personnel files, letters, diaries, speeches, and documents, and relying on probing interviews and generous assistance from American and Russian archivists, historians, and government officials, the authors bring new material to light, including important information on the U-2, Kennan's containment policy, and Thompson's role in US covert operations machinery.
This unique and monumental biography not only restores a central figure to history, it makes the crucial events he shaped accessible to a broader readership and gives contemporary readers a backdrop for understanding the fraught United StatesRussia relationship that still exists today.
Ambassadors -- United States -- Biography
Biography
Cold War
Cold War -- Diplomatic history
Diplomatic history
Diplomats
Diplomats -- United States -- Biography
Foreign relations
Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- United States
Thompson, Llewellyn
Thompson, Llewellyn, -- 1904-1972
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1945-1989
United States -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union
World politics
World politics -- 1945-1989
Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 272969d8-bf20-f6e9-9ea0-ccb71aab7d2f |
---|---|
Grouping Title | kremlinologist llewellyn e thompson americas man in cold war moscow |
Grouping Author | thompson jenny |
Grouping Category | book |
Last Grouping Update | 2019-02-17 04:37:36AM |
Last Indexed | 2019-02-17 04:42:01AM |
Solr Details
accelerated_reader_interest_level | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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accelerated_reader_point_value | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
accelerated_reader_reading_level | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
auth_author2 | Thompson, Sherry, 1954- | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author | Thompson, Jenny, 1949- | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author2-role | Thompson, Sherry,1954-author. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author_display | Thompson, Jenny | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
collection_aacpl | ADULT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
detailed_location_aacpl | Severna Park Library - Nonfiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
display_description | "The Kremlinologist chronicles major events of the Cold War through the prism of the life of one of its top diplomats, Llewellyn Thompson. His life went from the wilds of the American West to the inner sanctums of the White House and the Kremlin. As the ambassador to Moscow, he became an important advisor to presidents and a key participant in major twentieth-century events, including the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. Yet, unlike his contemporaries McGeorge Bundy and George C. Marshall--who considered Thompson one of the most crucial actors in the Cold War and the "unsung hero" of the Cuban Missile Crisis--he has not been the subject of a major biography until now. Thompson's daughters Jenny Thompson Vukacic and Sherry Thompson set out to document their father's life as thoroughly as possible. Relying on primary sources and interviews, they received generous assistance from archivists, historians, and colleagues of their father. They also acquired documents and information from Russian archives, including the KGB archives. As family, they had unprecedented access to his FBI dossier, State Department personnel files, family archives, letters, diaries, speeches, and documents. Their original research brings new material to light including important information on the U-2, Kennan's containment policy, and Thompson's role in US covert operations machinery. The book refutes historical misinterpretations of events in the Berlin Crisis, the Austrian State Treaty, and the Cuban Missile Crisis."--Provided by publisher. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
format_aacpl | Book | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
format_category_aacpl | Books | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
id | 272969d8-bf20-f6e9-9ea0-ccb71aab7d2f | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
isbn | 9781421424545 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
item_details | ils:a1447888|31997100920214|Severna Park Library - Nonfiction|921 THOMPSON|||1|false|false|||||Checked Out|Feb 16, 2019|S-PK|| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
itype_aacpl | Adult Nonfiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
last_indexed | 2019-02-17T09:42:01.548Z | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
lexile_score | -1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
literary_form | Non Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
literary_form_full | Non Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
local_callnumber_aacpl | 921 THOMPSON | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
local_time_since_added_aacpl | Year | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
owning_library_aacpl | Anne Arundel County Public Library | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
owning_location_aacpl | Severna Park Library | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
primary_isbn | 9781421424545 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
publishDate | 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
record_details | ils:a1447888|Book|Books||English|Johns Hopkins University Press,|[2018]|xi, 587 pages ; 26 cm. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
recordtype | grouped_work | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
scoping_details_aacpl
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subject_facet | Ambassadors -- United States -- Biography, Biography, Cold War -- Diplomatic history, Diplomats -- United States -- Biography, Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- United States, Thompson, Llewellyn, -- 1904-1972, United States -- Foreign relations -- 1945-1989, United States -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union, World politics -- 1945-1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_display | The Kremlinologist : Llewellyn E Thompson : America's man in Cold War Moscow | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_full | The Kremlinologist : Llewellyn E Thompson : America's man in Cold War Moscow / Jenny Thompson and Sherry Thompson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_short | The Kremlinologist : | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_sub | Llewellyn E Thompson : America's man in Cold War Moscow | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
topic_facet | Ambassadors, Cold War, Diplomatic history, Diplomats, Foreign relations, Thompson, Llewellyn, World politics |