This biography is a complete reassessment of an important American envoy to the Soviet Union in years that were critical in determining postwar East-West relations. Using formerly untouched primary sources, Dr. MacLean sheds a different light on a controversial figure and on his relationship with world leaders, senior diplomats, and Soviet experts during the period under study. She offers intimate glimpses into the perceptions and motivations behind major . and Soviet policies from 1936 to 1946. Her fascinating account of this practical idealist is good reading for all interested in diplomatic history and Soviet-American relations.
This is a close study of the complex political, philosophical, and personal factors that guided Joseph Davies in his dealings with Roosevelt, Truman, Stalin and Lipvinov, Molotov, Kennan, and Bohlen, to name just a few. A more balanced interpretation can now be offered of Davies than the traditional two-dimensional stereotype.