Books : Summits: Six Meetings That Shaped the Twentieth Century
|
|
In association with Amazon.com
|
by: David Reynolds
List Price: $17.50Amazon.com's Price: $11.90 You Save: $5.60 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Not yet published
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9780465012756
ISBN: 0465012752
Label: Basic Books
Manufacturer: Basic Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 576
Publication Date: April 27, 2009
Publisher: Basic Books
Sales Rank: 773824
Studio: Basic Books
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
The Cold War dominated history for nearly half a century, locking two superpowers in a global rivalry that ended only with the collapse of the Soviet Union. For millennia, the outcomes of war had been determined on the battlefield, but the most decisive moments of the Cold War occurred in the carefully worded exchanges of world leaders meeting face to face. In the shadow of the bomb, the summit meeting offered an opportunity for heads of state to rattle sabers and cross swords without triggering nuclear apocalypse. Drawing on extensive archival material, prizewinning historian David Reynolds describes the outsized personalities who negotiated the course of twentieth-century history: Neville Chamberlain, Adolph Hitler, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, Leonid Brezhnev, Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Ronald Reagan. While these men addressed epochal issues, the outcome of each meeting was often determined more by individual personality than by international politics. Mishandled summits-Munich in 1938 and Yalta in 1945-brought about World War II and the Cold War, respectively. Kennedy's disastrous performance in Vienna in 1961 nearly brought about World War III. But successful summits in Moscow (1972), Camp David (1978), and Geneva (1985) led to 'detente,' a partial settlement in the Middle East, and a peaceful end to the Cold War. Written with verve and insight, 'Summits' vividly describes the statesmen who stood, if only briefly, on top of the world. By revealing both the promise and the pitfalls of international diplomacy, David Reynolds offers valuable lessons as we findourselves confronting once again a war without end.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Excellent Historical Study
This was a brilliant idea for a 20th century history. Absolutely entertaining, it gives you an angle on many major events of the last sorrowful century that is unusual. Reynolds has an ideal diplomat's sensibility: he sees both sides' fears, strengths and vulnerabilities, and he has a good overall perspective, an ability to weigh the true importance of words and events.
The greatest benefit of the book however seems to me to be the character assessments of the personalities involved ... Read More
Rating: - An Excellent Overview
Rich in anecdotes as well as context and the backdrop of forces for the summits covered, the 435 pages are well augmented with extensive reference sections and a very detailed index. It is also a study of changes in the practice of high-level, high-stakes diplomacy, ranging from the force of personalities who have little connection to the societies that they represent, to what the author generally describes as a bureaucratic process that involves more and more individuals as the collective world-view's ... Read More
Rating:  - History with a humanity aspect applied
I first heard of this book while listening to a national radio show where the author was a guest. While I was captured at first on a purely historical basis by their discussion of the Neville Chamberlain-Adolf Hitler summit, continuing to listen I was surprised that my interest veered off in a new direction. I determined that this was not a book so much about straight facts boringly laid out such as "Hitler said this, then Chamberlain rebutted with this..." as it is about the people in that event and ... Read More
|
|
|
