1983: The World at the Brink

"1983 was a supremely dangerous year - even more dangerous than 1962, the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the US, President Reagan massively increased defence spending, described the Soviet Union as an 'evil empire' and announced his 'Star Wars' programme, calling for a shield in space to defend the US from incoming missiles. Yuri Andropov, the paranoid Soviet leader, saw this as a sign of American aggression and convinced himself that the US really meant to attack the Soviet Union. When a Soviet fighter shot down Korean Airlines flight KAL 007 after the latter strayed off course, Reagan described it as a 'terrorist act' and 'a crime against humanity.' The temprature was rising fast. ... This is a ... largely unknown Cold war story of spies and double agents, of missiles being readied, of intelligence failures and misunderstandings and of the panic of world leaders."--Back cover.