{"product_id":"on-the-edge-of-the-cold-war-american-diplomats-and-spies-in-postwar-prague-9780195166798","title":"On the Edge of the Cold War: American Diplomats and Spies in Postwar Prague","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1945  both the U.S. State Department and U.S. Intelligence saw Czechoslovakia as the master key to the balance of power in Europe and as a chessboard for the power-game between East and West. Washington believed that the political scene in Prague was the best available indicator of whether the United States would be able to coexist with Joseph Stalins Soviet Union.  In this book  Igor Lukes illuminates the end of World War II and the early stages of the Cold War in Prague  showing why the United States failed to prevent Czechoslovakia from being absorbed into the Soviet bloc. He draws on documents from archives in the United States and the Czech Republic  on the testimonies of high ranking officers who served in the U.S. Embassy from 1945 to 1948  and on unpublished manuscripts  diaries  and memoirs.  Exploiting this wealth of evidence  Lukes paints a critical portrait of Ambassador Laurence Steinhardt. He shows that Steinhardts groundless optimism caused Washington to ignore clear signs that democracy in Czechoslovakia was in trouble. Although U.S. Intelligence officials who served in Prague were committed to the mission of gathering information and protecting democracy  they were defeated by the Czech and Soviet clandestine services that proved to be more shrewd  innovative  and eager to win. Indeed  Lukes reveals that a key American officer may have been turned by the Russians. For all these reasons  when the Communists moved to impose their dictatorship  the U.S. Embassy and its CIA section were unprepared and powerless.  The fall of Czechoslovakia in 1948 helped deepen Cold War tensions for decades to come. Vividly written and filled with colorful portraits of the key participants  On the Edge of the Cold War offers an authoritative account of this key foreign policy debacle.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45646664400949,"sku":"ByrdShop_0195166795","price":43.04,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780195166798.jpg?v=1781676934","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/on-the-edge-of-the-cold-war-american-diplomats-and-spies-in-postwar-prague-9780195166798","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}