A dazzling historical work, John Lewis Gaddis's book "The Cold War" takes us to a time when the world was on the brink of destruction. In 1945, the war came to an end. However, a new terror had just begun... Here is the truth behind every spy thriller you have read: why America and the Soviet Union were trapped in a deadly standoff. How close were we to a nuclear catastrophe? What was going on in the minds of leaders from Stalin to Mao, from Ronald Reagan to Mikhail Gorbachev? How did secret agents plot, and how did East German tourists contribute to the fall of the Berlin Wall? It is a story of crucial conversations and underground actions, tyrants, and power struggles - and ordinary people who changed the course of history.

“Stunning” Len Deighton

“Excellent... full of vivid incidents” Independent on Sunday

“A vivid and readable history” The Times

“Force 9 on the Richter scale” Spectator

John Lewis Gaddis is a Professor of History at Yale University and is considered the “dean of Cold War historians” (The New York Times). He is the author of many books, including "Security and the American Experience," which he recently presented to President Bush’s ministers and senior officials.

Pages: 352, Dimensions: 12.8x12.8cm