Andrei Gromyko’s “Memories” is one of the most fascinating and exciting books I have read in in the last two years. Gromyko, who served as the Soviet Ambassador to the U.S., U.K., Cuba, the UN, and later served for almost 30 years as the Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs, describes in fantastic detail his experiences as a diplomat.

Gromyko provides an insider’s perspective on some of the most important political and historical events of the 20th century. These include: WWII, the conferences at Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam, the founding of the United Nations, the Geneva Convention, the creation of NATO (which he has a hilarious story about), the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cuban Revolution and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Détente, the Suez Crisis, etc.

Gromyko’s descriptions of the numerous political figures he met through his long diplomatic career I found especially interesting — and sometimes absolutely hilarious. Although I am unable to list them all, Gromyko describes the personalities, quirks, his likes and dislikes, and other observations of the following people:

USA - Presidents: Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45), Harry Truman (1945-53), Dwight Eisenhower (1953-61), John F. Kennedy (1961-63), Lyndon Johnson (1963-69), Richard Nixon (1969-74), Gerald Ford (1974-77), Jimmy Carter (1977-81), Ronald Reagan (1981-89), George H. W. Bush (1989-1993).
USA - Other U.S. officials or notable persons: Henry Kissinger (National Security Adviser, 1969-75; Secretary of State, 1973-77), Cyrus Vance (Secretary of State, 1977-80), John Foster Dulles (Secretary of State, 1953-59), Marilyn Monroe (model, actress, singer), Paul Robeson (singer), Charlie Chaplain (actor).

BRITAIN - Prime Ministers: Winston Churchill (1940-45, 1951-55), Clement Attlee (1945-51), Anthony Eden (1955-57), Harold Macmillan (1957-63), Alec Douglas-Home (1963-64), Margaret Thatcher (1979-90), Harold Wilson (1964-70, 1974-76)
BRITAIN – Other officials or notable persons: King George VI (1936-52), Queen Elizabeth II (1952-Present), John Maynard Keynes (British economist, whom he grilled on economics and capitalist crises, which I found hilarious!)

FRANCE - Presidents and Prime Ministers: Leon Blum (Prime Minister, 1936-37, 1938, 1946-47), Georges Pompidou (Prime Minister, 1962-68; President, 1969-74), Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (President, 1974-81), François Mitterrand (President, 1981-95), General Charles de Gaulle (Chairman of Provisional Government of France, 1944-146; President, 1959-69)

WEST GERMANY - Chancellors: Konrad Adenauer (1949-63), Ludwig Erhard (1963-66), Helmut Schmidt (1974-82), Willy Brandt (1969-74), Helmut Kohl (1982-98)

ITALY - Prime Ministers: Aldo Moro (1974-76), Amintore Fanfani (1954, 1958-59, 1960-63, 1982-83, 1987)
ITALY - Other officials or notable persons: Palmiro Togliatti (General Secretary of the Communist Party of Italy, 1927-64)

POLAND - Presidents and Prime Ministers: Wojciech Jaruzelski (Prime Minister, 1981-85; President, 1989-90)

INDIA - Prime Ministers: Jawaharlal Nehru (1947-64), Indira Gandhi (1980-84)

YUGOSLAVIA - Presidents and Prime Ministers: Josip Broz Tito (Prime Minister, 1944-63; President, 1953-80)

SPAIN – Prime Ministers: Adolfo Suarez (1976-81), Felipe Gonzales (1982-96)
SPAIN – Other officials or notable persons: King Juan Carlos I (1975-2014), Pablo Picasso (painter)

FINLAND – Presidents and Prime Ministers: Urho Kekkonen (Prime Minister, 1954-56; President, 1956-82)

SWEDEN - Prime Ministers: Tage Erlander (1946-69), Olof Palme (1969-76)
SWEDEN - Other officials or notable persons: King Gustav VI Adolf (1950-73), King Charles Gustav XVI (1973-Present)

DENMARK – Monarchs: King Frederick IX (1947-72), Queen Margrethe II (1972-Present)

NORWAY – Prime Ministers: Einar Gerhardsen (1963-65)

BELGIUM – Prime Ministers: (Paul-Henri Spaak (Prime Minister, 1938-39, 1946, 1947-49; Secretary-General of NATO, 1957-61), Pierre Harmel (1965-66), Leo Tindemans (1974-78)
BELGIUM - Other officials or notable persons: King Baudouin (1951-93)

NETHERLANDS – Prime Ministers: Barend Biesheuvel (1971-73)
NETHERLANDS - Other officials or notable persons: Queen Juliana (1948-1980), Queen Beatrix (1980-Present)

EGYPT – Presidents and Prime Ministers: 1. Gamal Abdel Nasser (Prime Minister, 1954, 1954-62, 1967-70; President, 1956-70), Anwar Sadat (President, 1970-81)

CANADA – Prime Ministers: Pierre Trudeau (1968-79, 1980-84)

PAKISTAN – Presidents: Muhammad Zia-ul Haq (1978-88), Ayub Khan (1958-69)

CHILE – Presidents: Salvador Allende (1970-73)

IRAN – Monarchs: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Shah, 1941-79)

TURKEY – Presidents and Prime Ministers: Mustafa İsmet İnönü (Prime Minister, 1923-24, 1925-37, 1961-65; President, 1938-50)

AFGHANISTAN – Monarchs: Mohammed Zahir Shah (King, 1933-73)

JAPAN – Prime Ministers: Eisako Sato (1964-72), Yasuhiro Nakasone (1982-87)

INDONESIA – Presidents: Sukarno, (1945-67)

PHILIPPINES – Presidents: Ferdinand Marcos (1965-86)

SYRIA – Presidents: Hafez al-Assad (1971-2000)

PALESTINE – Presidents: Yasser Arafat (Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, 1969-2004, President of the Palestinian National Authority, 1994-2004)

CUBA – Presidents and Prime Ministers: Fidel Castro (Cuban Revolutionary; Prime Minister of Cuba, 1959-1976; President of Cuba, 1976-2008)
CUBA - Other officials or notable persons: Che Guevara (revolutionary)

CHINA – Presidents: Mao Zedong (Chinese Revolutionary; President, 1954-59; Chairman of the Communist Party of China, 1943-76)

VIETNAM – Presidents and Prime Ministers: Ho Chi Minh (Vietnamese Revolutionary; Prime Minister of Democratic Republic of Vietnam, 1945-55; President of Democratic Republic of Vietnam, 1945-69)

UNITED NATIONS – Secretaries-General: Dag Hammarskjöld (1953-61), U Thant (1961-66, 1966-71), Kurt Waldheim (Secretary-General of the UN, 1972-81; President of Austria, 1988-92)

POPES: Pope John XXIII (1958-63), Pope Paul VI (1963-78), Pope John-Paul II (1978-2005)

As much as I enjoyed reading this book, I must say that I have far less respect for Gromyko as a communist now than I did when I first started reading the book. Throughout the book Gromyko strikes me as a careerist and an opportunist, especially whenever he discusses the Soviet Union and Soviet issues. He first describes Stalin as “a man of large calibre, he successfully held the Communist Party together after Lenin’s death, and for a further thirty years played a determining role as the leader of a great power facing momentous tasks,” and a “man of powerful intellect, a leader with the unshakeable determination of the revolutionary, and also the ability to find common understanding with our wartime allies.” Nearer the end of the book, he devotes almost two whole chapters to denouncing Stalin’s diabolic ‘reign of terror’, as well as those “sinister” figures that served under Stalin. At the same time that he denounces Stalin, Gromyko praises Gorbachev’s “far-sightedness,” which is almost laughable, and cheers on perestroika and glasnost. Gorbachev’s leadership is “capable of solving the historically important questions of both economic construction and the country’s social development,” Gromyko wrote!! ( )