The Colder War: How the Global Energy Trade Slipped from America's Grasp

Product Information

But once I grasped the entity of Istanbul and Odessa and each ferry etc- I couldn't put the book down. And it was NOT only because of all the excellent "tailing" episodes of 10 or 12 or 15 character inputs, either. The country needed a strong, decisive leader, and it got one. Putin had risen from obscure KGB agent to President of the Federation in an ascension whose speed was unprecedented in Russian politics.

Time and space would not permit to give all of my thoughts on the book and the ones provoked since finishing it. Let me touch the key areas that stand out to me. Enter former agent Thomas Kell who is not actively working in the service after an enquiry into events that happened in the authors previous novel, Foreign Country. Amelia is not only Thomas's boss but a good friend and she asks him to find out all he can about Wallinger's fatal "accident." There are a lot of mysteries to be solved that Thomas is keen to get to the bottom of including why Wallinger, a notorious womaniser, was doing in Greece in the first place. As Thomas begins to unravel all the messy details of Wallinger's life and last movements he begins to realise that he has become embroiled in something a lot bigger than just a plane crash. Furthermore, when he becomes romantically involved with Wallinger's beautiful daughter Rachel he finds it difficult to separate his emotions from the job he has to do which could prevent him from achieving the results he needs. In Summary, I ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND that you read this book, if for no other reason, for the shear weight of facts, details, and important topics brought out, discussed, and exposed to the light of day - something you will hear or see on NO major news outlet! If you are like me then it is a slow read as I like to absorb all the details rather than gloss a subject. Whether you agree with some, all, or none of Marin Katusa's writing it will bring an important subject to the forefront of your mind and force you to think about it. The book is good on suggesting real spycraft and technique plus the use or failings with technology and retains both characters and circumstances that are products of a far more complex and dangerous post-Soviet world as the plot/s move from Turkey to Berlin to London and elsewhere. Though the author doesn't get into the ideological drivers in much detail, the reader is apprised of significant global developments during the Cold War era. From the creation of the Iron Curtain between East and Western Europe to the role of China and everything in between the facts are laid bare.His relationship with "C" is central to this plot as before and sees him deployed on a mission to investigate a light plane crash which soon spreads to involve various agencies in a post-cold war Europe and Mediterranean.

The whole idea of spy world sounds very authentic. It reminded me of the BBC drama Spooks, the concept of duplicity and secrecy that goes with it and this story is full of it. Among the many thoughts triggered by Westad’s narrative, some of the most provocative involve how the Cold War might very well have turned out very differently if only: To mark the anniversary, we’re sharing some of our latest history titles on the Cold War for you to explore, share, and enjoy. We have also granted free access to selected chapters, for a limited time, for you to dip into. 1. The Cold War: A Very Short Introductionby Robert J. McMahon A enjoyable and well constructed spy thriller from Charles Cumming with the story and action nicely paced but never too fast or loose to make it unbelievable.Read: Velvet Revolutions 7. Flowers Through Concrete: Explorations in Soviet Hippielandby Juliane Fürst Throughout this remarkable book, the reader “hovers” in time, watching as key decisions are made and marveling at how many of them were based upon misinformation or misunderstandings. The tit-for-tat response and counter-response of each side to the other’s moves (or what were thought to be their intentions) for the next several decades only served to reinforce – and, in a real sense, create – the belief that this was an all or nothing struggle for survival.

Europe’s struggle to achieve post-war stabilization was undermined by the Great Depression, even as Japan’s invasion of Manchuria exposed the powerlessness of the League of Nations. Less than 20 years after the ending of the first, an even more devastating world war created the immediate conditions from which the Cold War began: an exhausted Europe too enfeebled to hang on to its far-flung colonial ventures, the Soviet Union exercising de facto control over much of central and eastern Europe, and the ending of China’s long internal struggle with Mao’s defeat of Chiang Kai-Shek.Levane, has noticed a curious pattern of blown spy missions involving England and the cousins. A nuclear scientist in Iran and other operations have been blown. Levane suspects a mole, and we are soon immershed in a classic cat and mouse game as Kell tries to find the mole. Levane has a list of suspects and Kell is to focus on one such agent.

This October marks the 60 thanniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a tense political and military standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.

Social Media

Fourthly, and more to the point of the book's premise, I agree with 95% of Marin Katusa's premise, assessment, and warning. His energy, financial, and foreign policy arguments are VERY WELL researched and explained and very compelling. He has put his finger on the pulse of our future and found it to be weak and thready under our current economic/political condition. Read a free chapter: Introduction 3. Imagining the World from Behind the Iron Curtain: Youth and the Global Sixties in Polandby Malgorzata Fidelis Russia is flexing its muscles. It has annexed Crimea and is now putting the screws to the Ukraine. At the same time, Putin has again charged another billionaire industrialist with crimes, in a power play to probably get his company. The world may be on the brink of a new cold war. It is fertile ground for a top notch spy novelist. However, despite the book's overall even-handedness, it is still written from a certain (implicitly social democratic) Western perspective, which influences the narrative somewhat, perhaps downplaying the barbarity of imperialism at times. The Global Sixties are well known as a period of non-conformist lifestyles, experimentation with consumer products and technology, counterculture, and leftist politics. But contrary to public perception, the Iron Curtain was hardly a barrier against outside influences, and young people from students and hippies to mainstream youth in miniskirts and blue jeans saw themselves as part of the global community of like-minded people as well as citizens of Eastern Bloc countries.