{"product_id":"melting-the-ice-curtain-the-extraordinary-story-of-citizen-diplomacy-on-the-russiaalaska-frontier-9781602233348","title":"Melting the Ice Curtain: The Extraordinary Story of Citizen Diplomacy on the Russia-Alaska Frontier","description":"\u003cp\u003eJust five years after a Soviet missile blew a civilian airliner out of the sky over the North Pacific  an Alaska Airlines jet braved Cold War tensions to fly into tomorrow. Crossing the Bering Strait between Alaska and the Russian Far East  the 1988 Friendship Flight reunited Native peoples of common languages and cultures for the first time in four decades. It and other dramatic efforts to thaw what was known as the Ice Curtain launched a thirty-year era of perilous  yet prolific  progress.  Melting the Ice Curtain tells the story of how inspiration  courage  and persistence by citizen-diplomats bridged a widening gap in superpower relations. David Ramseur was a first-hand witness to the danger and political intrigue  having flown on that first Friendship Flight  and having spent thirty years behind the scenes with some of Alaskas highest officials. As Alaska celebrates the 150th anniversary of its purchase  and as diplomatic ties with Russia become perilous  Melting the Ice Curtain shows that history might hold the best lessons for restoring diplomacy between nuclear neighbors.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45951527747637,"sku":"ByrdShop_1602233349","price":239.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781602233348.jpg?v=1788112100","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/melting-the-ice-curtain-the-extraordinary-story-of-citizen-diplomacy-on-the-russiaalaska-frontier-9781602233348","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}