Reviews

The response to Nixon, Khrushchev and Safire in my Kitchen has been overwhelmingly positive. Hurwitz and his photos were featured in Caroline Bruton’s documentary presented at the annual National History Day, the topic of which was “Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.” And here’s what some enthusiastic readers have to say about the book:

The Kitchen Debate is certainly well known as an important symbolic moment in the Cold War, but until I read Ernie Hurwitz’s fascinating personal account of helping to construct it at the American National Exhibition in Moscow in 1959, I knew very little about the history of its creation or the way that Nixon and Khrushchev’s confrontation was experienced on the ground by those who observed it. I highly recommend Hurwitz’s memoir for how it brings to life a crucial moment that revealed the Cold War to be about more than territorial and military contestation between the two superpowers. Rather, we see these leaders competing over whose society delivered more, and better, consumer goods and a higher standard of living to its citizens. We learn that important stuff was dished out in this kitchen! —Lizabeth Cohen, Harvard University, author of A Consumers’ Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America and Saving America’s Cities: Ed Logue and the Struggle to Renew Urban America in the Suburban Age

I read your book cover to cover this morning. I can't tell you how happy I was to find it! …There are plenty of resources on the internet about the political climate and aftermath of the [American Exhibition of 1959], but there is little about the American experience while working in Moscow on the exhibits. I love your story about the cab driver mistakenly trying to drive you to Leningrad instead of to your hotel, among other tid-bits you mentioned. —Andie Newton, author of The Girls from the Beach

A candid, and at times funny, memoir about life as an American inside Russia while working on the American Exhibition of 1959. A must read. —Anonymous

A great example of how to make history fun to read. In 1977, I had the opportunity as a journalist to visit and report from the Soviet Union. I thought I knew everything about the famous "Kitchen Debate" between President Nixon and Premier Khrushchev, but it wasn't until I read Mr. Hurwitz's perceptive and often humorous book that I learned not only how the kitchen was constructed, but how an entire house was created as a propaganda tool to impress the "average Russian." In charge of the venture, he deftly worked his way through a thorn-covered political, business and interpersonal maze to accomplish his assignment. If you like history, you'll love this book. And if you are only searching for a "good read," you'll love it as well. —David C.B.

The photos and the authentic voice of a witness to Cold War shenanigans is historically accurate and entertaining. —Pachy

Seeing through the eyes of a 27-year-old project manager for constructing a model home during the cold war in Russia was riveting, intriguing, educational, and heartwarming. Hurwitz’s first-hand accounts of his experience of the Russian people was fascinating, as were, his experiences of his limited freedom in Moscow, shaking hands with Khrushchev and listening in on the conversation Khrushchev and Nixon was intriguing. Well worth a read! —Katherine