Paul Dibb – författare

Now updated to the Gorbachev era, this book is an examination of the state of the Soviet Union today. One of its main aims is to highlight the weaknesses of this faltering empire. It takes the view that Soviet Union is "an incomplete superpower" lacking real economic, technological or ideological power. The only strength of the Soviet state is its military power, but because of this Moscow faces a formidable array of opponents who see it as an enemy.

Throughout the Cold War Paul Dibb worked with the highest levels of Australian and American intelligence, and was one of very few Australian officials to be given the top-secret security clearance for access to Pine Gap. Only the most senior intelligence officers in both the US and Australia held this clearance—and even then on a strict 'need to know' basis.Inside the Wilderness of Mirrors is Paul's unique insight into how Australia saw the threat from the Soviet Union during the Cold War era and beyond. This insider's account of Australian defence strategy reveals the crucial importance of the US-Australian base at Pine Gap and why Moscow targeted it for nuclear attack, and how it felt to be an expert on the Soviet Union at a time when those who dared to study the Soviet Union were necessarily subject to suspicion from their Australian colleagues. Inside the Wilderness of Mirrors concludes by examining the ways in which contemporary Russia presents a continuing threat to the international order.