An Impossible Dream: Reagan, Gorbachev, and a World Without the Bomb

by Guillaume Serina, David A. Andelman (Translation), David A. Andelman (Narrator)(Translator)(Afterword)

The riveting untold story behind the meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik to stop the nuclear arms race.

When Reagan and Gorbachev sat down in Reykjavik in 1986, George Shultz said that it was “the poker game with the highest stakes ever played.” It was the last time the world had a chance to do away entirely with nuclear weapons.

This is the behind-the-scenes story of this remarkable summit conference. An Impossible Dream is the first exploration of recently-available archives of both sides—top-secret archives of the Kremlin, the personal papers of Gorbachev, as well as Reagan's archives. These chronicles, personal diaries and previously classified memoranda are deeply enriched by the personal reminiscences of many of the key players at this era. But above all, the stage is set with a personal and exclusive preface from Gorbachev himself.

An Impossible Dream is the deeply important examination of the present and the future. The hazards of the nuclear age are legion, from aging weapons to new software that is vulnerable to terrorist attacks. With elements of the Trump administration considering a unilateral abrogation of the intermediate range nuclear missile (INF) treaty, the roots of which were laid at Reykjavik. Serina lays out this pivotal moment in history clearly and dramatically in this landmark work, as the world stands poised on the edge of a potential new arms race.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 2, 2019

Reviews

[Dave Voyles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched and packed with detail.

It went a bit too far in-depth for what I was looking for, but I can't punish the book for that. Still, I found it to be a very objective view of the negations between the two countries at the time and the context around it.

[John Mace · Rating 2 out of 5]

When he is sticking to the facts of the Reykjavik Summit, it’s fine and fairly informative. But he is incapable of keeping his bias and prejudice out of the discussion. The last chunk of the book is him down on his knees before barry obama and it is just disgusting.

[Bay Ridge Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, except the author was anything but neutral in his opinions.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book An Impossible Dream tells the story of the meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev in Reykjavik. This meeting was an attempt to develop a nuclear deal between two countries, and the audacious goal of having all nuclear weapons removed within ten years of the meeting was on the table. The book tells this story from both the American and Soviet perspectives about the preparations that were involved in these talks as well as each country's goals for the summit. The book attempts to stay neutral throughout, which I appreciated as a historian. However, I would have preferred to see more analysis of these events and perspectives in the books. I also found some of the grammatical changes due to the translation distracting. However, this book tells the story of an important attempt during the Cold War to end nuclear proliferation, and it is important to keep these ideas in mind.