Chris Tudda is a historian in the Department of State and Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University, USA.

Tudda (history, George Washington Univ.) has produced a book destined to become the benchmark work on the Cold War-era summits. Because of the book's excellent format, it is one of those rare historical works that will be accessible to beginning students, yet also of interest to experts in the field. Tudda covers all of the summits between 1945 and 1991 (Potsdam, Bandung, Glassboro, Beijing, Vienna, and Malta). Each chapter begins by setting the historical stage for the summit, enabling novices to better understand the issues and era in which the summit took place. Taken as a whole, these background pages form a history of cold war issues and relations between the Soviet Union and US, almost constituting a book within the book. Following the background information, Tudda provides detailed descriptions of the summit discussions between US presidents and Soviet premiers or other leaders. In addition to the US-Soviet summits, there are detailed descriptions of the Bandung Summit, which involved Asian and African leaders, as well as the Beijing Summit meetings that involved President Nixon and Mao Zedong. Tudda notes throughout the importance of summitry during the nuclear age, when building relationships between US and Soviet leaders helped reduce the danger of nuclear war. Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries.

• 1. Introduction2. Potsdam: How the Cold War Began3. Bandung: The Former Colonies Declare their Independence (Again)4. Glassboro: The Beginning of Detente5. Beijing: Sino-U.S. Rapprochement and the Cold War6. Vienna: Carter, Brezhnev, and Détente's Last Breath7. Malta: Ending the Cold War8. ConclusionBibliographyIndex

Chris Tudda is a historian in the Department of State and Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University, USA.

Tudda (history, George Washington Univ.) has produced a book destined to become the benchmark work on the Cold War-era summits. Because of the book's excellent format, it is one of those rare historical works that will be accessible to beginning students, yet also of interest to experts in the field. Tudda covers all of the summits between 1945 and 1991 (Potsdam, Bandung, Glassboro, Beijing, Vienna, and Malta). Each chapter begins by setting the historical stage for the summit, enabling novices to better understand the issues and era in which the summit took place. Taken as a whole, these background pages form a history of cold war issues and relations between the Soviet Union and US, almost constituting a book within the book. Following the background information, Tudda provides detailed descriptions of the summit discussions between US presidents and Soviet premiers or other leaders. In addition to the US-Soviet summits, there are detailed descriptions of the Bandung Summit, which involved Asian and African leaders, as well as the Beijing Summit meetings that involved President Nixon and Mao Zedong. Tudda notes throughout the importance of summitry during the nuclear age, when building relationships between US and Soviet leaders helped reduce the danger of nuclear war. Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries.

• 1. Introduction2. Potsdam: How the Cold War Began3. Bandung: The Former Colonies Declare their Independence (Again)4. Glassboro: The Beginning of Detente5. Beijing: Sino-U.S. Rapprochement and the Cold War6. Vienna: Carter, Brezhnev, and Détente's Last Breath7. Malta: Ending the Cold War8. ConclusionBibliographyIndex

Chris Tudda is a historian in the Department of State and Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University, USA.

Tudda (history, George Washington Univ.) has produced a book destined to become the benchmark work on the Cold War-era summits. Because of the book's excellent format, it is one of those rare historical works that will be accessible to beginning students, yet also of interest to experts in the field. Tudda covers all of the summits between 1945 and 1991 (Potsdam, Bandung, Glassboro, Beijing, Vienna, and Malta). Each chapter begins by setting the historical stage for the summit, enabling novices to better understand the issues and era in which the summit took place. Taken as a whole, these background pages form a history of cold war issues and relations between the Soviet Union and US, almost constituting a book within the book. Following the background information, Tudda provides detailed descriptions of the summit discussions between US presidents and Soviet premiers or other leaders. In addition to the US-Soviet summits, there are detailed descriptions of the Bandung Summit, which involved Asian and African leaders, as well as the Beijing Summit meetings that involved President Nixon and Mao Zedong. Tudda notes throughout the importance of summitry during the nuclear age, when building relationships between US and Soviet leaders helped reduce the danger of nuclear war. Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries.

• 1. Introduction2. Potsdam: How the Cold War Began3. Bandung: The Former Colonies Declare their Independence (Again)4. Glassboro: The Beginning of Detente5. Beijing: Sino-U.S. Rapprochement and the Cold War6. Vienna: Carter, Brezhnev, and Détente's Last Breath7. Malta: Ending the Cold War8. ConclusionBibliographyIndex