From the winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize, the incredible true story of one of the most audacious and little-known operations of WW2
Serhii Plokhy is Professor of History at Harvard University and a leading authority on Eastern Europe. His books include Baillie Gifford winner Chernobyl- History of a Tragedy, Lost Kingdom, The Gates of Europe and The Last Empire.
Plokhy is an expert guide, marshalling the archival and memoir
material skilfully and telling his story with flair * The Times
*
Many books claim to tell an "unknown" story of the Second World
War. Few of them actually do. Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern
Front is a rare exception. . . Plokhy is at his best when he
turns to the human level, the culture clash experienced by US
servicemen finding themselves inside Stalin's USSR under constant
surveillance from the secret police -- Duncan Weldon * Prospect
*
Serhii Plokhy's fascinating account of American airmen operating in
the Soviet Union toward the end of WWII is not only superb
history. It is an important and timely reminder, seventy five
years later, that victory in WWII involved allying with Stalinism
and all its attendant evils -- Alex Kershaw, author of The First
Wave
A riveting read that brings together a unique story about
American airmen on Soviet territory and US-Soviet wartime politics
on the highest level. Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill and key events
in World War II diplomacy are seamlessly woven into a compelling
tale of the dramatic feats and fates of US servicemen in contact
and conflict with their Soviet male and female 'comrades in arms.'
At once utterly absorbing, enlightening and moving, this
splendid book also unearths absolutely original evidence about the
values wars that launched the Cold War even as the hot one was
raging -- Nina Tumarkin, Professor of History and Director of
Russian Area Studies, Wellesley College
A new and enlightening perspective on the collaboration
between Soviet and American airmen in Ukraine during their mutual
fight against the Nazis, taking the reader onto the airbases to
show how cultural differences and the oppressive political
oversight of the Russians ate away at the effort from early on.
Using detailed accounts not previously available, Forgotten
Bastards of the Eastern Front shows how the interpersonal
relationships of Americans and Soviets at ground level were as
important as any maneuvering by their country's leaders. An
insightful account of a little-known story -- Gregory Freeman,
author of The Forgotten 500
Five stars. . . brilliantly researched * Daily Telegraph *
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