Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front

Plokhy is an expert guide, marshalling the archival and memoir material skilfully and telling his story with flair * The Times *Many books claim to tell an “unknown” story of the Second World War. Few of them actually do. Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front is a rare exception… Plokhy is at his best when he turns to the human level, the culture clash experienced by US servicemen finding themselves inside Stalin’s USSR under constant surveillance from the secret police – Duncan Weldon * Prospect *Serhii Plokhy’s fascinating account of American airmen operating in the Soviet Union toward the end of WWII is not only superb history. It is an important and timely reminder, seventy five years later, that victory in WWII involved allying with Stalinism and all its attendant evils – Alex Kershaw, author of The First WaveA riveting read that brings together a unique story about American airmen on Soviet territory and US-Soviet wartime politics on the highest level. Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill and key events in World War II diplomacy are seamlessly woven into a compelling tale of the dramatic feats and fates of US servicemen in contact and conflict with their Soviet male and female ‘comrades in arms.’ At once utterly absorbing, enlightening and moving, this splendid book also unearths absolutely original evidence about the values wars that launched the Cold War even as the hot one was raging – Nina Tumarkin, Professor of History and Director of Russian Area Studies, Wellesley CollegeA new and enlightening perspective on the collaboration between Soviet and American airmen in Ukraine during their mutual fight against the Nazis, taking the reader onto the airbases to show how cultural differences and the oppressive political oversight of the Russians ate away at the effort from early on. Using detailed accounts not previously available, Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front shows how the interpersonal relationships of Americans and Soviets at ground level were as important as any maneuvering by their country’s leaders. An insightful account of a little-known story – Gregory Freeman, author of The Forgotten 500Five stars… brilliantly researched * Daily Telegraph *

Serhii Plokhy is the author of Chernobyl- History of a Tragedy, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Pushkin House Book Prize, and the New York Times bestseller The Gates of Europe. His many acclaimed books, including The Russo-Ukrainian War, Nuclear Folly and Atoms and Ashes, have been translated into over a dozen languages. He is Professor of History at Harvard University where he also serves as Director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.