«This magnificent book, handsomely produced by the publisher, is a pleasure to read. Jenny Thompson and Sherry Thompson have skillfully interwoven memories from their childhood experiences in Russia, their mother's unpublished memoirs, other family papers, interviews with American diplomats, extensive research in published and unpublished documents, and wide range of scholarly studies to create a thorough and insightful examination of the long diplomatic career of their extraordinarily discreet and self-effacing father.
—David S. Foglesong, Rutgers University, H-Net Reviews»

«The Kremlinologist is part biography, part Cold War history, and a fitting tribute by his daughters to a consequential American diplomat.
—New York Journal of Books»

«Ambassador Thompson would have been proud of the skill, thoroughness and evenhandedness with which his daughters compiled this biography.
—Jonathan B. Rickert, Retired Senior Foreign Service Officer, The Foreign Service Journal»

«Thompson’s is an archetypal American story that took him from the wilds of the American West at the beginning of the 20th century to inside the halls of the White House and behind the walls of the Kremlin . . . Thompson’s story also confirms the power of personal diplomacy, patience and cultivation of deep understanding of and empathy for the other.
—History News Network»

«Neither Jenny nor Sherry Thompson, his daughters, is a professional historian, but they have closely researched official records and secondary sources and interviewed experts and eyewitnesses, and they draw on personal anecdotes that illuminate the family life of this formidable diplomat. The result is a readable portrait of a man whose behind-the-scenes role in major events is easy to overlook.
—Wall Street Journal»

«Llewellyn Thompson served eight U.S. presidents as a diplomat, including two stints as U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union. This rigorously documented book by his two daughters recounts his four decades as a Foreign Service officer . . . a valuable addition to the history of the first half of the Cold War, as well as a compelling biography of their father.
—Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs»

«In vigorous prose, Thompson's daughters Jenny and Sherry Thompson document his life as an accomplished career diplomat. They describe how Thompson joined the Foreign Service both to feed his desire for adventure and from a deep sense of duty.
—The Foreign Service Journal, "In Their Own Write" Annual Feature»