University of Texas Press (Austin), 1982.

The death of Josef Stalin in 1953 had a dramatic impact on international affairs. With his death came a number of possibilities for peace in Europe and the reunification of Germany. This book examines Cold War policy and the position that President Dwight Eisenhower took on the issue of Stalin's death. It is the third book in a series entitled "Ideas and Actions" written about events in European affairs dating from 1944 to 1953. The author's thesis argues that with the death of Stalin, President Eisenhower had an outside opportunity to ease the Cold War with the Soviet Union, help in the reunification of Germany, and put an honorable end to the war being fought in Korea by the United States.

At the time of publication, W. W. Rostow was the Rex G. Baker Jr. Professor of Political Economy at the University of Texas at Austin. Rostow was also called Walt Whitman, hence the two W's. Rostow uses a wide variety of sources. Many of his sources are primary sources such as presidential speeches, official CIA letters and memorandums to various government departments. The primary s

The author gives a balanced account of President Eisenhower's decisions after the death of Stalin. By using many primary source reports and speeches given by the president, the author was able to give a full account of issues and policies. The material is presented in a clear and concise manner. Biases were not detected in the book, for it was written from almost purely factual sources. The author's thesis is clearly understood and historical fact and not fiction back the development of the thesis. Stalin is not made out to be a cruel dictator and John Foster Dulles, although very harsh in his statements against communism, is not made out to be the enemy of the Soviet Union. Rather through a series of unfortunate mishaps opportunities were lost after the death of Stalin.

The dates and places of events listed in the book are historically correct. The book provides other reliable information on various subjects of the time period. For example, anyone doing research on United States foreign policy could use this book as a good source. Events occurring in various government departments such as the State Department are also good sources. The book contained a couple of sections that needed to be developed more. The author wrote the book from a standpoint that a person reading the book already had knowledge of key events such as the Russian Revolution, aftermath of World War II and United States foreign policy. More information in those areas would have been very helpful in understanding the book better. The author does an adequ

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Approximate Word count = 1043
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)