International diplomacy and a changing global economy did not bring
about the fall of the Iron Curtain. Radio did, and it was mightier
than the sword.
Based on first-hand interviews and documents from the Central
Committee of the Soviet Communist Party, Michael Nelson shows that
Western radio -- principally, the British Broadcasting Corporation,
Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, and the Voice of America -- were
unrivaled forces in the fight against communism and the fall of the
Iron Curtain.
It was a propaganda war in which the Communists had few radio
listeners in the West. They did everything in their power to
prevent the infiltration of Western thought into their world,
resorting to jamming radio signals, assassinating staff, and
bombing stations.
The Russians decided to stop the mass production of short-wave
radios so that their citizens could not hear Western broadcasts.
War of the Black Heavens reveals that, due to administrative
incompetence, short-wave radio production continued, making
worthless many of the billions of dollars spent on jamming.
These radio programs introduced a forbidden, exciting culture to
millions of eager listeners. Pop music, talk shows, news, and
information about consumer goods all relayed a message of the good
life, subtly undermining the values of the communist regimes.
Western radio presented the concept of a civil society that upheld
basic human values; it actively connected listeners with the
cultures of Europe and North America
War of the Black Heavens describes an unheralded story of
success and adds a new interpretation that helps us understand some
of the most momentous political events of this century.
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