A Different Russia - by Marvin Kalb (Paperback)

About the Book

In the early 1960's, the darkest, most dangerous years of the Cold War, Kalb brought the curiosity and excitement of a young American journalist to Moscow

Book Synopsis

In the early 1960's, the darkest, most dangerous years of the Cold War, Kalb brought the curiosity and excitement of a young American journalist to Moscow, where he kept a record of his daily CBS broadcasts on the building confrontation between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and American President John F. Kennedy.

Kalb had taught Russian history at Harvard University, spoke the language and traveled from one end of the communist world to the other, meeting ordinary Russians but also those, like Khrushchev, who chose to confront Kennedy at such risky places as the Bay of Pigs, the Vienna summit, the building of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban missile crisis, when the threat of nuclear war hovered over the world.

This unusual memoir, very personal but also professional, intimately recaptures this fascinating moment in Russian-American relations. Eye-catching is the surprising comparison it evokes with the modern, perilous Putin era, when a Kremlin leader regularly turns his back on the West rather than, like Khrushchev, leader of a "different Russia," pursues his aims, yet open to compromise and hope for better times.

Review Quotes

"Marvin Kalb is a national treasure, a pioneering journalist present at the creation of the historical record for some of the momentous events of the Cold War. For example, he takes the reader deep into the diplomatic heart of the Cuban missile crisis. As Kennedy and Khrushchev take the measure of each other, Marvin takes the measure of them and a world on edge. This book bristles with the unique insights and vibrant analysis that only a first-hand perspective can bring." -Fiona Hill, author, There is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century "High drama...nuclear brinksmanship...the Cuban missile crisis...Kennedy and Khrushchev: here is the story as recorded and reported by a young CBS news correspondent, recently named Moscow bureau chief, fluent Russian speaker, hand-picked by Edward R. Murrow, with the pulse-pounding background stories of the bulletins and news specials of the early 1960's. My old colleague and competitor brings it all to life." -Ted Koppel, founding anchor of ABC's Nightline "In this wonderful third volume of his memoir as CBS correspondent in Moscow from 1956 to 1964, Kalb combines insightful recollections of Khrushchev's efforts to ease the cold war, resulting ironically in harrowing clashes with Kennedy over Berlin and Cuba, with a fascinating insider's account of how American journalists struggled to cover the mercurial but ultimately unsuccessful Soviet leader." -William Taubman, author, Khrushchev, the Man and His Era "Every chapter from one of the legends in American journalism is compelling. The most fascinating is Kalb's reporting from Moscow during the Cuban missile crisis. He brilliantly captures the stakes, the drama and the calculations of the Soviet leader." -Judy Woodruff, anchor, PBS's Newshour

About the Author

For more than 70 years, MARVIN KALB has been a journalist, teacher and writer. An award-winning author of 17 books, Kalb is the Murrow Professor emeritus at Harvard, founding Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, former CBS and NBC Diplomatic Correspondent and Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the Brookings Institution.