For years, historians have dug into the archives, exploring the nuances of how the cold war was fought. But there is no substitute for the first-person testimony of the man who was there--in the pit--in the head-to-head confrontations in Moscow and Berlin and the Third World, in the decades when East and West struggled for supremacy. Kempton Jenkins was there at every turn; his memoir is a unique personal story as well as a valuable document in diplomatic history."-Ernest B. Furgueson, former Bureau Chief of the Baltimore Sun Moscow, Saigon and Washington, DC offices "As a Foreign Service veteran, I know a good FSO when I see one. Kempton Jenkins was one of the best (as he notes, at one point I tried to hire him). "Jenks'" voyage through a varied and stimulating career takes us from Asia to Berlin to Moscow to South America and to three different agencies, State, Commerce and USIA.
Each assignment has its special challenges, which come to life under Kempton's facile pen. He highlights the issues and introduces the reader to the players, some good some bad. Yet Kempton demonstrates that our diplomacy worked; we more than coped. We shaped events. Reading his book is the closest you can become to being an FSO during an exciting and crucial period in our diplomacy."-Frank Carlucci
"Cold War Saga provides a fascinating insider's view, enriched by personal experience. Jenkins' portraits of key cold war personalities, with whom he worked-Ambassador Llewellyn Thompson, Henry Kissinger, and Soviet Ambassador Dobryin-are especially revealing. A great read!- Helen Thomas
To us veterans of the Cold War's diplomatic front lines, Kempton Jenkins tells it like it was. He names the key players, gives a keen insight into their character, and shows why some were heroes and some villains. Cold War Saga is an absorbing read. If you fought with Jenks in the political trenches it will stir fond memories. If you didn't, it will take you there, and you won't forget where you've been or what was at stake. -Jack F. Matlock, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to the USSR, 1987-1991.