Book excerpt: Contending that the possibilities for regular diplomacy and foreign politics were narrow following the close of the Second World War (for fairly obvious reasons--i.e. Soviet-U.S. tensions), this work advances the novel argument that Hungary used cultural diplomacy to maintain some relations with countries that had been important to it before the war. The author looks at official cultural and scientific efforts, but also includes the work of civilian organizations and prominent civilians who weren't necessarily working at the behest of the Hungarian government. A translated and revised version of Magyar Kultura--Egyetemes Kultura: Magyarorszag kulturdiplomaciai torekvesei 1945-1948. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR