BOOK REVIEWS
Russia’s Ambassador To Britain
"Maisky,” Ten Years Ambassador, by George Bilainkin (London: Allen and Unwin). Mr. Bilainkin, commenting on a highly-successful reception at the Soviet Embassy in London in 1942. concludes his book as follows: —“The link between two great peoples totalling seven hundred million souls was the unwanted little political refugee from Tsarist Russia. Thirty years ago in Newhaven he had almost been turned away. Tonight he was the star. . . .” This, briefly, is the story of Ivan Mielikailoviteh Maisky, who. of all Soviet diplomats, has done most toward establishing the friendly AngloSoviet relations which exist today and which have taken many years of patience to bring about. In writing M. Maisky’s biography, Mr. Bilainkin has given a full history of Anglo-Soviet dealings since the last war. A previous sojourn in Britain when an exile from Tsarist Russia made M. Maisky well acquainted with the English language, and fortunately gave him an admiration and liking for British people, so that on his return to Britain he was well, equipped for his position as Charge d’Affaires. The British public, however, had been educated in distrust and hatred of Bolshevism by continued propaganda till even a representative of the Soviet seemed offensive. Newspapers called loudly for his expulsion from Britain. And so M. Maisky began his long fight against the prejudice of the British people in which some British aristocrats —most of the statesmen at that period had been to Eton or Harrow —showed themselves capable of the crudest behaviour. M. Maisky was snubbed very often, but he foresaw the German menace and cherished the belief that in an Anglo-Soviet alliance was the only hope for peace in the world. At that time the British statesmen showed plainly that they much preferred Nazis to Bolsheviks. Almost till the day_ of Germany's march into Poland the majority of British newspapers were against relations with Russia, and. with one or two notable exceptions. British politicians sponsored this view. Though brought verv near to defeat on several occasions by the complete breakdown of British negotiations with Russia. M. Maisky continued to work, and his pleasant character. reliability and well-informed mind made him a valuable personal friend. Much of the credit for the fact that Britain and Russia are now allies must go to him. In illustrating his points throughout the book, the author quotes continually from the British Press and from speeches made by prominent men of the time. Repeated reference is made to the domestic background in Britain also, and it would appear that no happenings with any bearing upon Anglo-Soviet relations from 1925 to 1942 have been overlooked. Mr. Bilainkin’s book requires and merits close reading. He is definitely pro-Rus-sian—who is not nowadays?—:but his bio* graphy is both painstaking and convincing, M. Maisky emerging as one of the most notable statesmen on the world platform today. „ . “You And The Peace,” by G. B. Shirlaw and L. E. Jones (London: Macmillan). This book was begun with the intention of packing into a single, handy-sized volume a discussion of all the question on the peace issue which are normally asked. The plan of the book was conceived by Captain Shirlaw, but he had only written a third of it when he was sent overseas at short notice. It was finished,, therefore, by Major Jones, though it was found necessary to omit much of the original plan. The authors have done a good job. They have written directly for the ordinary man. assuming no special knowledge he is unlikely to possess, and there is the ring of common sense about everything they say. Best of all, they are never dogmatic; they present, discuss and analyze the facts of the ease and leave it to the reader to make up his own mind, having afforded him a particularly practical view of the situation. "Post-War Industrial Planning in New Zealand,” by H. L. Wise (Wellington: Butterworth). It is becoming more and more universally recognized that the making of a plan for post-war industry is an urgent necessity. It cannot, however, receive adequate consideration till there is a clear and general understanding of what the problem is. Mr. Wise’s survey should be a great aid toward spreading that understanding and of considerable value in promoting the co-operation essential between the Government, employer and employee.
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Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 226, 21 June 1944, Page 6
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717BOOK REVIEWS Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 226, 21 June 1944, Page 6
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