Review Of 'Stalin's Curse'

Veteran journalist and author Joseph C. Goulden offers a good review of Robert Gellately's Stalin's Curse: Battling for Communism in War and Cold War in the Washington Times.

Robert Gellately's incisive work could well be titled, “Stalin’s Worst Blunder.” It is the story of how his rejection of Marshall Plan aid in 1947, both for the Soviet Union and the Eastern European nations falling under its domination, precipitated the Cold War and eventually led to the economic collapse of the Soviet bloc.

Mr. Gellately gives short shrift to individuals in the West — notably President Roosevelt and George Kennan of the State Department — who felt the wartime alliance would continue once peace arrived. He makes plain that Stalin had no such intention. Instead, he was determined to establish Communist regimes throughout Eastern Europe and beyond. During the war, he milked the alliance for all it was worth while he planned to plant Soviet-friendly regimes wherever the Red Army went.

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/13/book-review-stalins-curse/