Enemy Number One

Description

From Stalin's anti-American campaign to Khrushchev's peaceful coexistence policy, this book addresses the Soviet propaganda and ideology directed towards the United States during the early Cold War.

• Examines the inner workings of the cultural Cold War from the Soviet perspective
• Draws from extensive archival resources, including records from the State Prosecutor's office and public letters written by private citizens
• Sheds light on the continued use of domestic repression under Khrushchev

About the Author(s)

Rósa Magnúsdóttir, Professor of History, University of Iceland

Rósa Magnúsdóttir is Professor of History at the University of Iceland. She received her PhD in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration and Translation
Introduction
Part I. Stalin's Script for Anti-Americanism
1. The Anti-American Campaign, 1945-1953
2. American Sources of Information and Soviet Interest in the Enemy
3. Soviet-American Cultural Encounters in Late Stalinism
Part II. Khrushchev and the Discourse of Peaceful Coexistence
4. From Anti-Americanism to Peaceful Coexistence
5. The Paradoxes of Peaceful Coexistence, 1956-1957
6. The Possibilities of Peaceful Coexistence, 1958-1959
Epilogue
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Reviews

"Magnúsdóttir's book is well written and reads easily...it makes a very good supplement to existing studies of the cultural Cold War in the Soviet Union" - Andrei Kozovoi, Universite de Lille, SEER

"This study is a rewarding read and every reader will gain greater insight into the ups and downs of Soviet propaganda." - Martin McCauley, East-West Review

"[an] impressive book ... Of particular merit are the places where Magnúsdóttir heroically endeavors to understand how the general Soviet populace consumed their leadership's propaganda. The research done to get at this question (which includes work in the archives of the Soviet Procuracy) is admirable indeed and offers a glimpse into a question that few historians have been able to answer." - Margaret E. Peacock, H-Diplo

"provides new and fascinating insights ... Magnúsdóttir has provided scholars with a better foundation to compare and contrast the experience of information experts in the United States and the Soviet Union, thus making Enemy Number One an essential read for any student of Cold War propaganda." - Toby C. Rider, Russian Review

"Enemy Number One is a valuable contribution to the historiography of the Cold War. It illuminates the two sides to propaganda which played out in the Soviet Union: the offensive...and the defensive...Magnúsdóttir paints a vivid picture of a different side to the Cold War than many study, but one which she demonstrates to have been just as critical to its prosecution" - Simon Miles, Passport

"Magnúsdóttir's book is an important contribution to the field of the history of the cultural Cold War and could be a good source for use in college courses on Soviet and Cold War history." - Sergei I. Zhuk, Ball State University, American Historical Review

"Magnúsdóttir's succinct, concise writing style and clarity of argument make this work a clear asset to any undergraduate course in Cold War or Soviet history. This work provides a much-needed alternative view of the cultural Cold War from within the Soviet political system, and is ideal for enhancing students' understandings of the ideological battle for hearts and minds." - Matthew Brown, California State University, Long Beach, History Teacher