Friends or Foes ? The United States and Russia

摘要

In Friends or Foes, the fourth book in his multi-volume history of Russian (and Soviet)-American relations, Norman Saul describes Soviet-American relations during the tumultuous period 1921-1941: from the period of U.S. non-recognition of the Soviet Union to eventual alliance between the two powers. Saul painstakingly describes the slow evolution of the U.S.-Soviet relationship, analyzing the pressures both for and against closer ties in both countries. For much of the period of this study, traditional diplomatic ties were non-existent. Instead, U.S.-Soviet relations were conducted primarily in the business and in the cultural fields, and Saul focuses much of his work on these areas. As a result, he not only describes the gradual build-up of pressure for U.S. recognition of the Soviet Union, but also explains how the creation of the World War II alliance between the U.S. and Soviet Union was possible.