In the tense years of the early Cold War, American and Soviet women conducted a remarkable pen-pal correspondence that enabled them to see each other as friends rather than enemies.

In a compelling new perspective on the early Cold War, prizewinning historian Alexis Peri’s new book “Dear Unknown Friend” explores the correspondence between American and Soviet women beginning in the last years of World War II and continuing into the 1950s.

Previously unexamined, the women’s letters movingly demonstrate the power of the personal, as the pen pals engaged in a “diplomacy of the heart” that led them to question why their countries were so divided.

Buy the book here https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9780674987586

Episode extras here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode385/

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