MEMOIRS

by Andrei Gromyko ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 1990

An unreconstructed, often strident testament from the Soviet Union's longtime Foreign Minister. Gromyko (who died last July at nearly 80) was too young to participate in the revolution and ensuing civil war. He embraced Communism early on, though, and, recruited into the diplomatic corps in 1939, loyally served every USSR leader from Stalin to Gorbachev. Fluent in English, he was ambassador to the US and UK, subsequently serving as Foreign Minister from 1957 to 1985--a tenure that Harry Kissinger notes in a perceptive foreword is without parallel in any major country during the 20th century. Less a statesman than an instrument of Kremlin policy, Gromyko here takes a consistently hard or party line in his catechistic recollection of world affairs and political leaders. He soft-pedals Stalin's pact with Hitler while offering interpretations--of Sadat's rapprochement with Israel, the Marshall Plan, the Afghanistan invasion, the mortal assault on KAL-107, and other events--that promise to confound as well as infuriate most western readers. In like vein, Gromyko has harsh words for such Cold War adversaries as Dubcek, JFK, John Paul II, and Reagan, but kinder, gentler memories of those sympathetic to the putative goals of his peace-loving, anti-imperialist land; their ranks encompass the likes of Allende, Baruch, Castro, Hammer, Menon, Trudeau, et al. In addition to much Marxist/Leninist rhetoric, the author offers shrewd appraisals of Politburo colleagues, plus some fine tales from his globe-trotting career. At Yalta, to illustrate, Stalin introduced NKVD chief Beria to a nonplussed FDR as ""our Himmler."" With equal relish, Gromyko recalls the bafflement of western delegates to a 1955 conference when informed that the USSR was prepared to join NATO. Less amusing is the intelligence that Mae was willing to risk a nuclear conflict with the US in 1958. In a concluding chapter written expressly for the American edition, Gromyko seeks, without much success, to come to terms with the havoc Stalin wreaked on his countrymen. Equally unpersuasive is his attempt to characterize glasnost and perestroika (which effectively forced him from public life) as in socialism's mainstream. The apologia of a good soldier who outlived his contentious times--but fascinating and valuable nonetheless for its unyielding views of consequential confrontations and the author's contemporaries.

Pub Date: March 29, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1990

Categories: NONFICTION