In the early 1960's, the most dangerous years of the Cold War, Marvin Kalb brought the curiosity and excitement of a young American journalist to Moscow, where he kept a record of his daily CBS broadcasts on the building confrontation between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and American President John F. Kennedy.

A Different Russia: Khrushchev and Kennedy on a Collision Course is an unusual memoir, professional but also personal. It relies on Kalb's daily broadcasts from Moscow, travels through the communist world, including Mongolia, and reporting on the Soviet leadership, especially Nikita Khrushchev, who often referred to Kalb as "Peter the Great," a story unto itself. It focuses on the darkest moments of the Cold War, when Khrushchev confronted President John F. Kennedy at the Vienna summit in June 1961, the building of the Berlin Wall, the break-up of the Sino-Soviet alliance, and the Cuban missile crisis, which brought the world to the edge of a nuclear war.

The book, set for publication on January 15, 2025, and available for pre-order now, has been widely praised by many leading experts, scholars and journalists. TV anchor Ted Koppel described the book as "high drama, nuclear brinksmanship…the pulse-pounding stories of the 1960’s." And scholar William Taubman, who wrote the classic study of Khrushchev, said, "this wonderful memoir combines insightful recollections of Khrushchev’s harrowing clashes with Kennedy over Berlin and Cuba."

Marvin Kalb has been a reporter, teacher and author for more than 70 years. He is the Edward R. Murrow Professor Emeritus at Harvard, where he was also the Founding Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. Kalb has also been a visiting professor at Georgetown University and The George Washington University. He has covered and studied Soviet politics from Khrushchev to Putin, numerous wars from Vietnam to Ukraine, and American election campaigns from Ike to Trump.

While working for 30 years at CBS News and NBC News, first as Moscow bureau chief and then as Diplomatic Correspondent and host of Meet the Press, Kalb moderated the Kalb Report at the National Press Club, an award-winning radio and television interview program broadcast nationally on PBS. In addition to many other awards, he is the recipient of a Gold Emmy for "excellence in journalism." He has been a contributor to The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, The Boston Globe and many other publications.

There is an art to dying well that can be taught and learned. While death is inevitable, dying badly is not. Author and end-of-life activist Chris Palmer explains how a good death is achievable. Bloomsbury published Chris Palmer's latest book, Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life, in October 2024.

Early reviews are praising the book, calling it "deeply meaningful," "compelling," "eloquent," "a major accomplishment," "profoundly wise," "highly readable," and "an extraordinary guide."

Chris Palmer says, "This book started about a decade ago when I realized I was petrified of dying and resolved to confront this fear. My parents and three brothers, including my twin Jon, all died badly, and I was determined that my own end would be different. This book is the result of searching for answers to questions like how to deal with dementia, when it is appropriate to hasten death, and how we can talk about death and dying more openly."

Chris is an end-of-life activist and a trained hospice volunteer. He frequently gives pro bono presentations and workshops to community groups on aging, death, and dying issues. He founded and leads an aging, death, and dying group for the Bethesda Metro Area Village and serves on the board of several nonprofits focused on end-of-life issues, including Montgomery Hospice, Final Exit Network, the Hemlock Society, and the Maryland Office of Cemetery Oversight. He has written ten books — the latest, published by Bloomsbury on October 1, is Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life—proceeds from all his books fund scholarships for American University (AU) students. Chris Palmer served 14 years on AU’s full-time faculty as Distinguished Film Producer in Residence. He holds advanced degrees from Harvard and University College London. Before becoming involved in end-of-life issues, he spent forty years as a wildlife and conservation filmmaker. To learn more about Chris, visit www.ChrisPalmerOnline.com.