1983: The World at the Brink

This is one heck of interesting book! The author does a superb job of mixing politics, crises, intrigue, espionage, every behind-the-curtain happenstance during those critical years when the world was actually one step from nuclear destruction!
Heroes? Villains? Despite the author trying to put up an almost rosy picture of the Americans' actions while adding a certain emphasis on the ‘bad' soviets, there is a certain balance in the narrative. No side was perfect, terrible mistakes were made, ignorance reigned in a game that required both sides to be well informed about each other's moves. And in the end, both sides came down as too filled with prejudice to listen to the voice of reason.
The advent of Gorbachev started changing the picture, preparing what was perceived as a better future after Reagan's tirades against the “Empire of Evil>”. But between 1983 and 1985, politics was a race toward a goal that didn't promise any future at all...