American-Soviet Cultural Diplomacy - by Cadra Peterson McDaniel (Paperback)

About the Book

This book is the first full-length examination of a Soviet cultural diplomatic effort. In her work, McDaniel focuses on the key role that the Soviets assigned to the arts in transforming societies.

Book Synopsis

This book is the first full-length examination of a Soviet cultural diplomatic effort. In her work, McDaniel focuses on the key role that the Soviets assigned to the arts in transforming societies and demonstrates that the Soviets conceived of the arts as a kind of "artful warfare"; a valuable weapon in winning the Cold War.

Review Quotes

Cadra McDaniel's book, which is based on serious and solid research using both archival and published documents engaging contemporary Soviet and American periodicals and occasionally oral history, is a welcome addition to the growing literature about cultural production/consumption, cultural politics, and ideology in the Soviet Union, especially during post-Stalin socialism. It is devoted to a very important topic-- the role of cultural diplomacy in both the relaxation of international tensions and the intensification of ideological confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States during the rule of Nikita Khrushchev. Its main focus is on the history of the successful Bolshoi Ballet's tour in the U.S. in 1959, which is presented as a major chapter in Soviet cultural diplomacy and an episode of the Soviet 'artful warfare' against the Americans.

This book is well worth the attention of anyone interested in the Cold War or in the value of cultural exchanges, then, now, and in the future. . . .McDaniel's work will awaken those scholars who concentrate on military and political confrontations, such as those concerning Russian activity in Ukraine, to the importance of the calming and rewarding aspects of cultural interactions.

About the Author

Cadra Peterson McDaniel is assistant professor at Texas A&M University-Central Texas.