Worlds Apart
By Humphrey Trevelyan
A fascinating account of Peking and Moscow in the 1950s and 1960s from the British Ambassador himself.
Lord Trevelyan was head of the British diplomatic mission in Peking in the early ’50s, and Ambassador in Moscow in the early ’60s. He gives an inside view of a pivotal time in East-West relations. In China he describes the problem of ‘recognition’, the aftermath of Korea, the dangers of the Taiwan situation, his efforts on behalf of the British detained in China and the sensational incidents which occurred in the early years of the new Chinese Government.
On the Soviet Union he gives the story of the Test-ban treaty, the diplomatic manoeuvres on Laos and Vietnam, and a brilliant analysis of Soviet foreign policy, as well as fascinating accounts of life in Moscow. The book closes with a letter to Mr Kosygin, but what is its unique purpose?
Worlds Apart is told with good humour and many good stories. It is an intimate picture of life in the two embassies, and a remarkable book by one of the leading diplomats of our time. A must read for fans of Max Hastings and Robert Service.
Following a career in the Indian Political Service, Humphrey Trevelyan was Chargé d’Affaires in Peking from 1953-5, Ambassador to Egypt at the time of Suez, with the United Nations as Under-Secretary at the special request of Hammarskjöld, Ambassador to Iraq following the murder of the royal family and Nuri Said, Ambassador to the USSR when Khruschev was ousted. Then in 1967, after his retirement, he was sent as British High Commissioner to South Arabia, when the British withdrew from Aden.
