03634nam 2200661 450 991081055920332120230217231545.00-8014-7021-80-8014-5683-50-8014-7022-610.7591/9780801470226(CKB)2550000001192915(OCoLC)869282548(CaPaEBR)ebrary10831265(SSID)ssj0001114827(PQKBManifestationID)12490066(PQKBTitleCode)TC0001114827(PQKBWorkID)11073577(PQKB)10432213(MiAaPQ)EBC3138567(DE-B1597)527391(DE-B1597)9780801470226(MdBmJHUP)muse58355(Au-PeEL)EBL3138567(CaPaEBR)ebr10831265(CaONFJC)MIL683545(EXLCZ)99255000000119291520140210h20142014 uy 0engurcnu||||||||txtccrThe triumph of improvisation Gorbachev's adaptability, Reagan's engagement, and the end of the Cold War /James Graham WilsonNew York, New York :Cornell University Press,2014.©20141 online resource (281 p.)Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph1-322-52263-4 0-8014-5229-5 Includes bibliographical references and index.Introduction : individuals and power -- Reagan reaches -- Stagnation and choices -- Shultz engages -- Gorbachev adapts -- Recovery and statecraft -- Gorbachev's new world order -- Bush's new world order -- Conclusion : individuals and strategy.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.Cold WarDiplomatic historyUnited StatesForeign relationsSoviet UnionSoviet UnionForeign relationsUnited StatesUnited StatesForeign relations1981-1989Cold WarDiplomatic history.327.73047NQ 5910rvkWilson James1980-1684526MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910810559203321The triumph of improvisation4056080UNINA