arvin Kalb’s “Assignment Russia,” is a riveting memoir of becoming a foreign correspondent in the crucible of the Cold War, told by a man who was on Nixon’s enemy list.
Hired at CBS by Edward R. Morrow in June 1957, Kalb is considered a paragon of virtue for establishing the tradition of unbiased journalism and for standing up to Senator Joe McCarthy during his slate of trials in 1950 in which he accused more than 200 members of the Department of State of being Communists.
The opening scenes start at the ungodly hours during the graveyard shift at CBS news. As Kalb shares his tale of his first radio broadcast at 5am June 27, 1957 it's clear that he is not only a gifted storyteller but also one with an amazing memory.
With each passing moment and as promising opportunities arise, Kalb shares his dream of becoming the CBS correspondent in Moscow, given his fluency in the Russian language, his knowledge of Russian history and his Soviet era contacts. Along the way, he introduces readers to luminaries who were household names at the time, or would later become famous personalities.
For anyone who has been fortunate to experience the early morning aromas coming out of Parisian boulangeries, there is a special treat – a morning stroll with the late Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev, starting out from the gates of the Soviet Embassy in Paris, and sharing of freshly baked croissants. Known for his mercurial personality (he once banged his shoes on the table at the United Nations), Khrushchev stoked fears of nuclear war long before the age of ‘fire and fury’ and the ‘little rocket man’ in North Korea. But Kalb’s conversations with Khrushchev were not only civil but also made Khrushchev into a rational and almost lovable human being.
The downing of the U2 spy plane by the Soviets on May 1, 1960 was perhaps the cause of the failure of the Paris Summit between Khrushchev and U.S President Eisenhower. Because the plane took off from the Badaber base, Peshawar, Pakistan, many believe that Khrushchev was so upset that he had the city red marked on the targets list map. Kalb’s interview with Khrushchev in Paris provides first-hand insight into the Soviet thinking about the U2 incident.
On a lighter note, Kalb recounts his tale of the "War for the Bed" waged in Hotel Metropol, Moscow, as the 6’ 3” tall man tried to sleep in a 5’ 10” bed. For anyone who has worked in distant capitals of the world, the skirmishes with inflexible bureaucracy (and uncomfortable hotels) are all too familiar and the heart goes out for Kalb looking for an agreeable solution in the pages that follow. Those who believe in miracles will find it reassuring that Kalb’s problem is miraculously solved by someone who appeared to be an unsympathetic person in earlier pages.
Perhaps the most moving part of the book is the respect Kalb shows for Boris Pasternak, author of ‘Dr. Zhivago.’ Readers might come to tears when they read Kalb's description of Pasternak’s funeral.
Throughout the book there are more recollections of some fascinating events in detail. For those who know Kalb on a first-name basis, the book is a collection of memories he’s shared with friends across the dinner table in the Lafayette Room in the Cosmos Club, in Washington. The narration echoes his same gentle way of talking, free of bombastic language and almost always expressing gratitude to his mentor Morrow.
Kalb gives credit where it is due because he attributes his success to his Editor Hal Terkel; his wife of more than 60 years, ‘Mady’; his brother Bernard; of course Morrow and so many who helped him steadily but rapidly get to his goal. This is really refreshing because the book is about a professional journey not an ego trip.
‘Assignment Russia’ and its predecessor ‘The Year I was Peter the Great’ are the two must-have items for any journey – maybe even on ‘Awam Express,’ the train running between Peshawar and Karachi since 1925. Chances are that after absorbing these books, the reader might break out saying ‘wah wah’ – understood to mean excellent in many languages: Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and Pashto.
Readers should be forewarned that once they pick up the book, it will be hard to put down until they reach the end. And wisdom demands that one has to keep the end in mind before the beginning. The penultimate sentence of the book encapsulates Kalb’s philosophy, work ethic and his stellar record: “I worked in the Murrow ‘tradition’ of fairness, decency, and unafraid journalism.”
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Book Review: Assignment Russia, Marvin Kalb’s Memoir
Moscow, Russia - The Golden Hour. Photo by Alexander Popov via Unsplash.
May 4, 2021
Marvin Kalb’s “Assignment Russia,” is a riveting memoir of becoming a foreign correspondent in the crucible of the Cold War, told by a man who was on Nixon’s enemy list.
M
arvin Kalb’s “Assignment Russia,” is a riveting memoir of becoming a foreign correspondent in the crucible of the Cold War, told by a man who was on Nixon’s enemy list.
Hired at CBS by Edward R. Morrow in June 1957, Kalb is considered a paragon of virtue for establishing the tradition of unbiased journalism and for standing up to Senator Joe McCarthy during his slate of trials in 1950 in which he accused more than 200 members of the Department of State of being Communists.
The opening scenes start at the ungodly hours during the graveyard shift at CBS news. As Kalb shares his tale of his first radio broadcast at 5am June 27, 1957 it's clear that he is not only a gifted storyteller but also one with an amazing memory.
With each passing moment and as promising opportunities arise, Kalb shares his dream of becoming the CBS correspondent in Moscow, given his fluency in the Russian language, his knowledge of Russian history and his Soviet era contacts. Along the way, he introduces readers to luminaries who were household names at the time, or would later become famous personalities.
For anyone who has been fortunate to experience the early morning aromas coming out of Parisian boulangeries, there is a special treat – a morning stroll with the late Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev, starting out from the gates of the Soviet Embassy in Paris, and sharing of freshly baked croissants. Known for his mercurial personality (he once banged his shoes on the table at the United Nations), Khrushchev stoked fears of nuclear war long before the age of ‘fire and fury’ and the ‘little rocket man’ in North Korea. But Kalb’s conversations with Khrushchev were not only civil but also made Khrushchev into a rational and almost lovable human being.
The downing of the U2 spy plane by the Soviets on May 1, 1960 was perhaps the cause of the failure of the Paris Summit between Khrushchev and U.S President Eisenhower. Because the plane took off from the Badaber base, Peshawar, Pakistan, many believe that Khrushchev was so upset that he had the city red marked on the targets list map. Kalb’s interview with Khrushchev in Paris provides first-hand insight into the Soviet thinking about the U2 incident.
On a lighter note, Kalb recounts his tale of the "War for the Bed" waged in Hotel Metropol, Moscow, as the 6’ 3” tall man tried to sleep in a 5’ 10” bed. For anyone who has worked in distant capitals of the world, the skirmishes with inflexible bureaucracy (and uncomfortable hotels) are all too familiar and the heart goes out for Kalb looking for an agreeable solution in the pages that follow. Those who believe in miracles will find it reassuring that Kalb’s problem is miraculously solved by someone who appeared to be an unsympathetic person in earlier pages.
Perhaps the most moving part of the book is the respect Kalb shows for Boris Pasternak, author of ‘Dr. Zhivago.’ Readers might come to tears when they read Kalb's description of Pasternak’s funeral.
Throughout the book there are more recollections of some fascinating events in detail. For those who know Kalb on a first-name basis, the book is a collection of memories he’s shared with friends across the dinner table in the Lafayette Room in the Cosmos Club, in Washington. The narration echoes his same gentle way of talking, free of bombastic language and almost always expressing gratitude to his mentor Morrow.
Kalb gives credit where it is due because he attributes his success to his Editor Hal Terkel; his wife of more than 60 years, ‘Mady’; his brother Bernard; of course Morrow and so many who helped him steadily but rapidly get to his goal. This is really refreshing because the book is about a professional journey not an ego trip.
‘Assignment Russia’ and its predecessor ‘The Year I was Peter the Great’ are the two must-have items for any journey – maybe even on ‘Awam Express,’ the train running between Peshawar and Karachi since 1925. Chances are that after absorbing these books, the reader might break out saying ‘wah wah’ – understood to mean excellent in many languages: Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and Pashto.
Readers should be forewarned that once they pick up the book, it will be hard to put down until they reach the end. And wisdom demands that one has to keep the end in mind before the beginning. The penultimate sentence of the book encapsulates Kalb’s philosophy, work ethic and his stellar record: “I worked in the Murrow ‘tradition’ of fairness, decency, and unafraid journalism.”
