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The Last Superpower Summits : Gorbachev, Reagan, And Bush: Conversations That Ended The Cold War | ||||
ISBN: 9789633861691 | Price: 99.00 | |||
Volume: | Dewey: | Grade Min: | Publication Date: 2016-11-01 | |
LCC: 2016-029655 | LCN: E183.8.S65L38 2016 | Grade Max: | Version: | |
Contributor: SAVRANSKAYA | Series: | Publisher: Central European University Press | Extent: 1080 | |
Contributor: | Reviewer: Jeffrey A. Knapp | Affiliation: Penn State University | Issue Date: July 2017 | |
Contributor: | ||||
This fine primary-source collection edited by Savranskaya and Blanton (both, George Washington Univ.) documents the closing years of the Cold War. Collected and translated here are declassified transcripts of all ten of the US-Soviet summits convened between 1985 (Geneva) and 1991 (Madrid), obtained through requests under the Freedom of Information Act, the Gorbachev Foundation, and the Russian State Archives. The anthology offers a fascinating glimpse into the relationship that defined the waning years of the Cold War--from a hawkish Ronald Reagan softening his tone in his second presidential term to Mikhail Gorbachev's dissolution of the Soviet Union. The volume is thoughtfully laid out, starting with an introduction about the collection, a time line of key dates, and a list of "main actors," which enables readers to keep straight the many names mentioned in the work. Each of the ten summits is covered in a chapter, preceded by a historical essay that provides useful commentary and places transcripts in context. There is an excellent index, not only for the weapons systems discussed in the summits (e.g., "Strategic Defense Initiative" and "Pershing missiles"), but also for the concurrent events of the period (e.g., "Baltics, nationalist movements in" or "Chernobyl"). Overall, this is an excellent work issued collaboratively in the "National Security Archive Cold War Readers" series.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through professionals/practitioners; general readers. |