{"product_id":"the-triumph-of-improvisation-gorbachevs-adaptability-reagans-engagement-and-the-end-of-the-cold-war-9780801456831","title":"The Triumph of Improvisation: Gorbachev's Adaptability, Reagan's Engagement, and the End of the Cold War","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): James Graham Wilson\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Cornell University Press\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Cornell University Press\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Modern - 20th Century - General\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Triumph of Improvisation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e, 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.\u003c\/b\u003e 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, and 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEschewing 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, \u003ci\u003eThe Triumph of Improvisation\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornell University Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45117935911063,"sku":"9780801456831","price":1534.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780801456831.webp?v=1767143733","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/the-triumph-of-improvisation-gorbachevs-adaptability-reagans-engagement-and-the-end-of-the-cold-war-9780801456831","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}