Former Reuters journalist Nelson maintains that Western radio institutions such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty were unrivaled forces in the fight against communism and the fall of the Iron Curtain. Covering the period from the first Bolshevik broadcast in 1917 through the failed Soviet coup of 1991, Nelson describes the history of the stations, the efforts of communist governments to jam broadcasts, and the role of radio in introducing a forbidden and exciting culture to citizens of communist countries. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.