Max Jakobson : Finland, Myth and Reality

Takakansi

According to popular myth, the Finns are a nation living on the razor's edge, in the shadow of Soviet power, forever walking a tightrope without a safety net. In reality, as is shown by Max Jakobson in this book, Finland's progress from the ordeal of the Second World War to present-day affluence and stability is a success story without parallel. Having for long felt menaced by the East and let down by the West, the Finnish people today feel they are getting the best of both worlds.

This book is much more than an account of developments in one small country. Drawing on his personal experiences as a diplomat Max Jakobson presents a penetrating analysis of the evolution of Soviet policy from Stalin to Gorbachev — and of the Russian tradition that is interwoven into the very fabric of Soviet behaviour. He relates the story of Finland to some of the central issues of our time, such as the meaning of Yalta and the prospects of unity in Europe, the contest between Western democracy and Soviet Communism and, above all, the challenge posed by economic integration to the separate identities of the European nations.

Esittely

SCOTT (Copy 1): From the John Holmes Library collection.