The Global Rivals

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In a succinct, probing analysis of U.S.-Soviet relations, a companion volume to an upcoming PBS-TV series, Bialer ( The Soviet Paradox ), director of the Research Institute for International Change at Columbia University, and Mandelbaum ( The Fate of Nations ), fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, trace the post-WW I and WW II roots of animosity fed by misunderstandings, failed policies and a common sense of national mission, and discuss the external and domestic influences on both nations that promote their new rapport. Most promising, the authors show, are the radical changes in priorities and attitudes of Reagan and Gorbachev, the latter's reforms spurred by economic necessity and demands of certain groups that challenge him to liberalize without losing control. Despite the differences in their social, economic and political systems, human rights positions and conflicting geopolitical interests, but because of the nuclear threat, the rivals are being forced to coexist, note the authors. They predict that conflicts between the two nations may moderate and even permit cooperation on issues of mutual concern, like nuclear proliferation, terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism. (October)

School Library Journal

YA-- A companion to the public television series of the same name, this book analyzes the relationship--past, present, and future--between the U. S. and the USSR. A basic knowledge of history is presupposed as two experts discuss the fundamental ideological differences between the two countries and how they have been expressed in rivalries over the arms race, human rights, and attempts to influence governments in the rest of the world. Especially valuable is their understanding of Gorbachev's reforms and their predictions of how these may affect relationships with USSR satelites, western Europe, and the U.S. No forecasts are made regarding U.S. initiatives, only U.S. response. A useful second source for research on historic foreign policy, this is a valuable first source for its political analysis.-- Sally Bates, Houston Public Library