History of the United States (1980–1991) which the nations of the world, East and West, North and South, can prosper and live in harmony." Nationalist agitation in the Baltic States for independence led to first Lithuania and then the other two states, Estonia and Latvia, declaring independence from the Soviet Union. On December 26, 1991, the USSR was officially disbanded, breaking up into fifteen constituent parts. The Cold War was over, and the vacuum left by the collapse of governments such as in Yugoslavia and Somalia revealed or reopened other animosities concealed by decades of authoritarian rule. While there was a certain reluctance among the U.S.
How Many Miles to Babylon? (novel) and careful description" to depict the chaotic environment created by war. The novel also includes small abstracts from poetry and songs. The title of the novel is derived from a traditional nursery Rhyme, How Many Miles to Babylon?: <poem> </poem> When re-reviewing the novel in 2011, Philip Womack described the novel as "slim but emotionally hefty." For Womack, it's a poignant retelling of how the First World War erased lines of class, and its emotional toil: "Johnston's novel conveys both the insanity of war and the poignancy of unspoken tenderness." In 1982 it was adapted for television by the BBC,