Why read Ice War Diplomat?

Book cover of Ice War Diplomat: Hockey Meets Cold War Politics at the 1972 Summit Series

Book description

Discover a diplomacy mission like no other in Ice War Diplomat, the behind-the-scenes story of the historic 1972 Summit Series.

Amid the tension of the Cold War, caught between capitalism and communism, Canada and the Soviet Union, young Canadian diplomat Gary J. Smith must navigate the rink, melting the ice…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Ice War Diplomat as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Nicholas Coghlan

Author

If you’re a Canadian over sixty, then you remember where you were when Paul Henderson scored the winning goal in the final game of a tense eight-match hockey series that pitted Canada against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.

The moment was later featured on a postage stamp. As a junior Canadian diplomat serving in Moscow, Gary Smith – a keen amateur hockey player in his own right – played a key role in putting the series together.

This is a fast-paced, colorful read – with fascinating vignettes of diplomatic life in the Moscow of those…

From Nicholas' 3 favorite reads in 2023.