Summits; Six Meetings That Shaped the Twentieth Century

577 Pages·2007·3.84 MB·English

by  David Reynolds

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PRAISE FOR
DAVID REYNOLDS’S SUMMITS
“Most historians agree that summits played a central role in 20th-
century international relations, but explaining how or why these
meetings mattered so much has often proved frustrating. . . . David
Reynolds—a Cambridge historian—has now filled the gap with a
book that is as penetrating in its overarching analysis as it is rich in
detail about individual encounters at the summit: the result is a study
in international history at its very finest.” —Irish Times
“Behind the narrative lies a muscular analytic mind.”
—Sunday Times
“Lucid, authoritative account of big-power diplomatic parleys from
Munich to Camp David.” —Kirkus
“Reynolds had the intriguing idea of examining the conflicts of the
20th century through the lens of its pivotal summit meetings. Given
his Cambridge professorship and eight books on WWII and the
Cold War (Command of History), the author’s thorough mastery of his
subject is reflected in the fluency and assurance of the writing.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Author David Reynolds takes us on a virtual trek to the summit
and back in a book that is as entertaining and eye-opening as it is
instructive.” —Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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“This is an essential book for a deeper understanding and apprecia-
tion of the difficulties and the possibilities of international summitry.”
—Lincoln Journal Star
“A fascinating look at historical events through this particular lens. . . . ”
—Library Journal
“Masterly . . . required reading.” —Spectator
“David Reynolds writes with pace and verve . . . he has given us a
fine book.” —Literary Review
“Compellingly written . . .a work of great originality . . .an impor-
tant book, which should change the way we think about the inter-
national history of the twentieth century.”
—Times Literary Supplement
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SUMMITS
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also by david reynolds
The Creation of the Anglo-American Alliance:
A Study in Competitive Cooperation,1937–1941
An Ocean Apart:The Relationship between Britain and America
in the Twentieth Century (with David Dimbleby)
Britannia Overruled:British Policy and World Power
in the Twentieth Century
The Origins of the Cold War in Europe (editor)
Allies at War:The Soviet,American and British Experience,1939–1945
(co-edited with Warren F.Kimball and A.O.Chubarian)
Rich Relations:The American Occupation of Britain,1942–1945
One World Divisible:A Global History since 1945
From Munich to Pearl Harbor:Roosevelt’s America and
the Origins of the Second World War
In Command of History:Churchill Fighting and Writing
the Second World War
From World War to Cold War:Churchill,Roosevelt and
the International History of the 1940s
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S UM M I TS
Six Meetings That Shaped
the Twentieth Century
DAVID REYNOLDS
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
New York
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Copyright © 2007by David Reynolds
Hardcover edition first published in 2007 by Basic Books
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
Paperback edition first published in 2009 by Basic Books
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for
bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and
other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special
Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300Chestnut St.,
Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call [phone], extension. 5000,
or email [email protected].
design by jane raese
Text set in 12.5-point Bembo
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress.
hardcover isbn: 978-0-465-06904-0
paperback isbn: 978-0-465-01275-6
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For my mother
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CONTENTS
List of Maps ix
List of Illustrations xi
Introduction 1
1 Toward the Summit: From Babylon to Versailles 11
2 Munich 1938: Chamberlain and Hitler 37
3 Yalta 1945: Churchill,Roosevelt and Stalin 103
4 Vienna 1961: Kennedy and Khrushchev 163
5 Moscow 1972: Brezhnev and Nixon 223
6 Camp David 1978: Begin,Carter and Sadat 283
7 Geneva 1985: Gorbachev and Reagan 343
8 Summitry as a Way of Life: From the G7 to
Bush and Blair 401
Sources and Acknowledgments 437
Abbreviations 441
Notes 445
Index 521