In The Triumph of Improvisation; James Graham Wilson takes a long view of the end of the Cold War; from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 to Operation Desert Storm in January 1991. Drawing on deep archival research and recently declassified papers; Wilson argues that adaptation; improvisation; and engagement by individuals in positions of power ended the specter of a nuclear holocaust. Amid ambivalence and uncertainty; Mikhail Gorbachev; Ronald Reagan; George Shultz; George H. W. Bush; and a host of other actors engaged with adversaries and adapted to a rapidly changing international environment and information age in which global capitalism recovered as command economies failed.Eschewing the notion of a coherent grand strategy to end the Cold War; Wilson paints a vivid portrait of how leaders made choices; some made poor choices while others reacted prudently; imaginatively; and courageously to events they did not foresee. A book about the burdens of responsibility; the obstacles of domestic politics; and the human qualities of leadership; The Triumph of Improvisation concludes with a chapter describing how George H. W. Bush oversaw the construction of a new configuration of power after the fall of the Berlin Wall; one that resolved the fundamental components of the Cold War on Washington's terms.
#4084853 in Books Cornell Univ Pr 1985-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.75 x 6.75 x 1.00l; #File Name: 0801418003296 pages
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