Book Reviews : Russia and the West in Iran, 1918-1948. By GEORGE LENCZOWSKI. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1949. Pp. xv, 383. $4.50.)
| Published date | 01 September 1951 |
| Author | Victor J. Town |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591295100400311 |
| Date | 01 September 1951 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
493
The
series,
including
this
first
contribution
to
it
by
Dr.
Richard
P.
Stebbins,
succeeds,
on
the
whole,
at
a
somewhat
difficult
assignment.
Per-
haps
a
valid
observation,
though
not
necessarily
a
criticism,
is
that
each
volume
has
tended
to
be
an
account
of
events
around
the
world,
by
country
or
situation,
which
are
important
in
international
relations
and
of
interest
to
the
United
States,
rather
than
a
treatment
strictly
of
United
States
foreign
policy
or
relations.
The
present
volume
and
the
others
do,
however,
succeed
in
furthering
the
reader’s
understanding
and
interpreta-
tion
of
these
relations.
This
reviewer
has,
for
example,
found
Dr.
Stebbins’
study
to
be
a
most
useful
text
for
those
parts
of
courses
in
foreign
relations
.
which
deal
with
the
formulation
and
content
of
policy,
as
distinct
from
consular
and
diplomatic
practice
or
the
administration
of
foreign
policy.
Dr.
Stebbins’
writing
is
free
from
bias,
and
his
organization
and
space
allotment
in
dealing
with
a
complex
and
highly
interrelated
world
scene
is
satisfying
to
the
reviewer.
The
author
takes
up
the
story
following
the
signature
of
the
North
Atlantic
Treaty
and
carries
it
to
various
logical
stopping
points
early
in 1950.
The
treatment
reflects
the
special
interest
of
the
United
States
during
1949
in
European
affairs.
Direct
consideration
of
the
Far
East
is
more
limited,
but
the
chapter
called
&dquo;Search
for
a
Far
Eastern
Policy&dquo;
is
one
of
the
best
summarizations
in
the
book
and
is
excellent
background
for
the
subsequent
intensification
of
activity
in
that
area.
Attention
given
to
the
United
Nations
corresponds
to
the
growing
development
of
that
organiza-
tion
in
both
political
and
nonpolitical
(i.e.,
social
and
administrative)
con-
cerns.
Other
sections
or
chapters
deal
with
the
Middle
East,
the
Western
Hemisphere,
and
our
relations
with
the
British
Commonwealth.
An
inter-
esting
discussion,
also,
is
&dquo;New
Nations
in
the
Making,&dquo;
which
is
a
con-
sideration
of
the
Italian
colonies,
the
trusteeship
system,
and
non-self-
’
governing
peoples.
A
selected
bibliography
and
a
chronology
of
world
events
during
the
calendar
year
1949,
add
to
the
value
of
the
book.
Whittier
College.
J.
WILLIAM
ROBINSON.
Russia
and
the
West
in
Iran,
1918-1948.
By
GEORGE
LENCZOWSKI.
(Ithaca:
Cornell
University
Press.
1949.
Pp.
xv,
383.
$4.50.)
To
explore
the
background
and
circumstances
behind
the
struggle
be-
tween
Russian
communism
and
Western
democracy
in
Iran
is
the
pur-
pose
of
Professor
Lenczowski’s
book.
He
provides
in
this
exceptionally
readable
volume
an
energetic
history
of
events
and
protagonists
in
that
country
from
1918
to
1948.
He
has
set
forth
a
picture
of
Iran
both
as
a
pawn
and
as
a
checkmate
in
the
struggle
between
Russia
on
the
one
hand,
and
Great
Britain,
Ger-
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