From the Cold War to a New Era: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1983-1991

Rating:
Summary: Fair and well-written
Review: This is an exciting look into the demise of the Soviet Union. Oberdorfer was a journalist for the Washington Post and had as close a view to the 1980s US-USSR foreign policy process as anyone outside of the government could have. With his fine writing skills, he offers the reader a balanced account of the changing relationship between the superpowers of the Cold War. Of course, the powerhouses of Reagan, Gorbachev, Gromyko, Dobrynin, Shultz, Bush, and Shevardnadze are the focal points; but there are many other important players who contributed no small amounts to what happened at the tail end of the Cold War.

Ronald Reagan was no doubt an important force in American government: all presidents are. However, there is and forever will be controversy over his impact on events. The right wingers want us to believe that he single-handedly brought down the Soviet Union by being tough and forcing them to spend money until they collapsed; the righties also believe Gorbachev had nothing to do with his country's implosion. The left wingers want us to believe that Reagan had nothing to do with what happened and that Gorbachev deserves all of the accolades. As with all debates among the two ends of the American political spectrum, the truth lies somewhere in-between. And Oberdorfer offers us a look into a process that was bigger than the two leaders, albeit a process that was greatly impacted by all involved. As America continues to debate Ronald Reagan and what he left us, maybe some day we can all accept that he was something more complex than the right-wing and left-wing want to believe. But until then, there is this fantastic book. Enjoy.