In the midst of events

"The years 1950 and 1951 were important ones in post-war British foreign policy. The Cold War was at its height with the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 and the controversy over German rearmament. Britain's refusal in 1950 to join the Schuman Plan for a European Coal and Steel Community marked a crucial stage in the development of its subsequent European policy and the bitter dispute with the Iranian government over oil nationalisation which broke out in 1951 typified the challenge to its informal empire in the Middle East.".

"Kenneth Younger was the second-ranking minister in the Foreign Office under Ernest Bevin and Herbert Morrison from February 1950 until the Labour government's defeat in the general election of October 1951. His diaries and papers, published here for the first time, offer a unique insight into British and world politics at a time when Britain could still claim to be a world power. Younger's incisive analysis and vivid descriptions of events and personalities make this volume an essential primary source for anyone interested in the period, while his shrewd assessments of Britain's European policy and the 'special relationship' with the United States are as relevant today as they were more than half a century ago."--BOOK JACKET.