Mircea Malitza, a career diplomat from Romania, witnessed and participated in major events during the entire Cold War period. An engaging personality, he earned respect from world leaders in the United States, Western Europe and emerging post-colonial countries. This account is noteworthy for its rare insights into a duality not always apparent when seen through the Cold War lens of Western eyes. There is, on the one hand, the subservience of Romania, and the entire Soviet Bloc, to Russia's dogmas and imperial aspirations. On the other hand, Romania's leaders crafted their own national 'independent path, ' often in highly creative and potentially dangerous ways. This served Romania well in opening doors to favorable Western contact, culminating, during the mid-1960s, in a period of 'liberalization' of internal and foreign policies. In time, though, these achievements were undermined by Nicolae Ceausescu's increasingly dictatorial and cruel slide into a moral and economic abyss. In these memoirs, Ambassador Malitza's recollections of the Cuban Missile Crisis are illuminating: he provides unique eye witness testimony to both the public posturing and tense behind-the-scenes diplomacy as the world was taken to the brink of nuclear war - he is the sole surviving member of the UN Security Council of that time. Revealing, too, are Malitza's accounts of the dramatic day-by-day events and secret conspiracies of the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968-and how Romania avoided a similar fate. The author reveals his encounters and professional friendships with world leaders. Private conversations with Averell Harriman - America's master diplomat with unique insights into Russia's policies - are unexpected. So, too, is the relationship with UN Secretary General U-Thant. A unique memoir written in a lively voice, and translated for this edition with great sensitivity to nuance and subtle humor, this book should please both the casual reader and the specialist.
About the Author: Mircea Malitza is a career Romanian diplomat. After finishing his studies in mathematics and philosophy at the University of Bucharest he started his long foreign service career: Counselor to the Permanent Mission of Romania to the United Nations (1956-1961) Romanian representative to the UN Commission on Disarmament in Geneva (1960-1982) Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (1962-1970) Minister of Education (1970-1972) Presidential Advisor for Foreign Affairs (1973-1980) Ambassador in Switzerland and United Nations, Geneva (1980-1982) Ambassador in USA (1982-1985) Professor of Mathematics in the University of Bucharest (1985-1990) Professor of International Relations at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (2000-2011). A member of the Romanian Academy, he is also Fellow Member of the World Academy of Art and Science, and of several international organizations including the Club of Rome and the World Future Studies Federation. Author of more than fifty books on international relations, education, mathematical models for social sciences and essays.