On the Front Lines of the Cold War

An American Correspondent's Journal from the Chinese Civil War to the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam

From Our Own Correspondent

by Seymour Topping

488 Pages / 6.12 x 9.25 x 1.00 in / 44 halftones, 6 maps

Paperback

9780807145623

Published: July 2012

$24.95

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Hardcover

9780807135563

Published: March 2010

$39.95

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eBook

9780807146712

Published: March 2010

$19.95

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As a correspondent for the International News Service, the Associated Press, and later for the New York Times, Seymour Topping documented on the ground the tumultuous events during the Chinese Civil War, the French Indochina War, and the American retreat from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. In this riveting narrative, Topping chronicles his extraordinary experiences covering the East-West struggle in Asia and Eastern Europe from1946 into the 1980s, taking us beyond conventional historical accounts to provide a fresh, first-hand perspective on American triumphs and defeats during the Cold War era.

Seymour Topping retired from the New York Times in 1993 after service as foreign editor and as managing editor for ten years. He served until 2002 as administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes and is now emeritus professor of international journalism at Columbia University. His previous books include Journey Between Two Chinas; The Peking Letter: A Novel of the Chinese Civil War; and Fatal Crossroads: A Novel of Vietnam 1945.

An absorbing narrative of American successes and failures after World War II. ~Library Journal

The book is a feast for students of history who want to know not just how things turned out, but also how it actually happened. ~Associated Press

This book should be required reading for all journalism students and international policymakers. ~Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication

Topping draws important historical lessons as a signpost for today’s policy makers. ~American Journalism

A notable contribution to the history of the Cold War as seen by an astute observer. ~Journal of Cold War Studies

The new autobiography from an international correspondent during the Cold War provides a fresh angle on some epoch-making events in American foreign relations. ~International History Review

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