India and world politics

Little of substance has been written by or about Krishna Menon who, though now in political eclipse, was one of the major figures in the shaping of Indian foreign and domestic policy between 1947 and 1962 and was a prominent and dramatic figure at' the United Nations during these troubled years. In 1964-5 Professor Michael Brecher, Professor of Political Science at McGill
Unive. y, had a series of tape-recorded interviews with him on widely ranging themes and the main part of the book, an edited version of this dialogue, makes a valuable and fascinating commentary on world and Indian politics, being at once a primary source for scholars and, by retaining as far as possible the conversational flavour and tone, a reflection of Krishna Menon's complex person- ality. In the second part of the book Professor Brecher constructs an incisive analytical portrait of Krishna Menon's View of the World and its impact on India's foreign policy. Michuel Brecher has received research fellowshi ps from the N uffield, Rockefeller and Guggenheim Foundations, and from the Canada Council. He is the author of five books dealing with Asian
'and international politics. His Nehru:
A Political Biography was, in 1960, awarded the Watumull Prize as- 'the book that makes the most significant contribution to America's understanding of India'. In 1963 he served as Visiting Professor of Political Science at the University . of Chicago. He has also j lectured at various universities and at the I, National Defence Colleges of Canada, India, and Israel.