Summits: Six Meetings That Shaped the Twentieth Century

by David Reynolds

The Cold War dominated history for nearly half a century, locking two superpowers in a global rivalry that ended only with the collapse of the Soviet Union. For millennia, the outcomes of war had been determined on the battlefield, but the most decisive moments of the Cold War occurred in the carefully worded exchanges of world leaders meeting face to face. In the shadow of the bomb, the summit meeting offered an opportunity for heads of state to rattle sabers and cross swords without triggering nuclear apocalypse. Drawing on extensive archival material, prizewinning historian David Reynolds describes the outsized personalities who negotiated the course of twentieth-century Neville Chamberlain, Adolph Hitler, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, Leonid Brezhnev, Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Ronald Reagan. While these men addressed epochal issues, the outcome of each meeting was often determined more by individual personality than by international politics. Mishandled summits-Munich in 1938 and Yalta in 1945-brought about World War II and the Cold War, respectively. Kennedy's disastrous performance in Vienna in 1961 nearly brought about World War III. But successful summits in Moscow (1972), Camp David (1978), and Geneva (1985) led to détente , a partial settlement in the Middle East, and a peaceful end to the Cold War. Written with verve and insight, Summits vividly describes the statesmen who stood, if only briefly, on top of the world. By revealing both the promise and the pitfalls of international diplomacy, David Reynolds offers valuable lessons as we find ourselves confronting once again a war without end.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, World History

576 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database. For more information please see David Reynolds.

A Professor of International History and a Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. He was awarded a scholarship to study at Dulwich College, then Cambridge and Harvard universities. He has held visiting posts at Harvard, Nebraska and Oklahoma, as well as at Nihon University in Tokyo and Sciences Po in Paris. He was awarded the Wolfson History Prize, 2004, and elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2005. He teaches and lectures both undergraduates and postgraduates at Cambridge University, specialising in the two world wars and the Cold War. Since October 2013 he has been Chairman of the History Faculty at Cambridge.

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating exploration of several key summits in the 20th century. While often not as detailed as I would have preferred, the discussion successfully painted a picture of the tone and key issues of each interaction and drove towards a number of interesting observations about the roles, risks, and components of summitry. The kind of book that both leaves me satisfied but also motivates me to seek out more accounts and perspectives.

[Helena Sheibler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neville Chamberlains wasn't the moron everyone thinks he is and this book illuminates him fairly well. Appeasement was a horrible idea, obviously but the book is fair and factual. The Reagan/ Gorbachev chapter is likewise, deftly handled. Yalta, 1945. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin. Need I say more?

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fascinating. It's amazing how much of history is based upon misinterpretations and misconceptions.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic book if you are interested in how leaders walked into some of the most famous meetings of diplomacy. Quite amazing. Very dry and boring if you are not into history.

[N. G. Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good concise breakdown of six of the most important summits of the 20th Century - even handed and incisive.

[Hisuhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars