The Turn: From the Cold War to a New Era: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1983-1990

Washington Post diplomatic correspondent Obendorfer ( Tet! ) covered most of the high-level exchanges of the last decade between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and interviewed the major participants. This lengthy chronicle gives readers a ringside seat at the summit meetings and behind-the-scenes maneuvers that drastically changed the relations between the two superpowers. Gorbachev, predictably, is identified as the prime agent and apostle of change in his country's dealings with the outside world. On the American side, the author names George Shultz, Reagan's pragmatic secretary of State, as the key figure in improving relations with the Russians. Starting with Reagan's March 1983 condemnation of the ``evil empire'' and culminating in Gorbachev's May 1990 trip to Washington, this dramatic history adds valuable details to our picture of the rapprochement between two enemies. (Oct.)