Synopses & Reviews
What the Kremlin wanted during the Cold War and what it was willing to do to get it.
Nikita Khrushchev was a leader who risked war to get peace during the most dangerous years of the twentieth century. In Khrushchev's Cold War, Aleksandr Fursenko and Timothy Naftali, authors of the Cuban missile crisis classic One Hell of a Gamble, bring to life head-to-head confrontations between Khrushchev and Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. Drawing from their unrivaled access to Politburo and Soviet intelligence materials, they reveal for the first time three moments when Khrushchev's inner circle restrained him from plunging the superpowers into war. Combining new insights into the Cuban crisis, startling narratives on the hot spots of Suez, Iraq, Berlin, and Southeast Asia, and vivid portraits of leaders in the developing world who challenged Moscow and Washington Castro, Lumumba, Nasser, and Mao Khrushchev's Cold War provides one of the most gripping and authoritative studies of the crisis years of the Cold War. 16 pages of illustrations.
Synopsis
This acclaimed study from the authors of brings to life head-to-head confrontations between the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev and Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. Drawing on their unrivaled access to Politburo and KGB materials, Aleksandr Fursenko and Timothy Naftali combine new insights into the Cuban missile crisis as well as startling narratives of the contests for Suez, Iraq, Berlin, and Southeast Asia, with vivid portraits of leaders who challenged Moscow and Washington. provides a gripping history of the crisis years of the Cold War.
Synopsis
Contains unsettling insights into some of the most dangerous geopolitical crises of the time.--The Economist
This acclaimed study from the authors of One Hell of a Gamble brings to life head-to-head confrontations between the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev and Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. Drawing on their unrivaled access to Politburo and KGB materials, Aleksandr Fursenko and Timothy Naftali combine new insights into the Cuban missile crisis as well as startling narratives of the contests for Suez, Iraq, Berlin, and Southeast Asia, with vivid portraits of leaders who challenged Moscow and Washington. Khrushchev's Cold War provides a gripping history of the crisis years of the Cold War.
Synopsis
"Contains unsettling insights into some of the most dangerous geopolitical crises of the time."--
About the Author
Aleksandr Fursenko, one of Russia's leading historians, is a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.Timothy Naftali, a frequent contributor to Slate and NPR, is director of the federal Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. He lives in Los Angeles, California.