Anatomy of Mistrust: U.S.-Soviet Relations During the Cold War

Summary: Provocative for those interested in U.S.- Soviet Relations
Rating: 5

Professor Larson is a gifted author who has meticulously combed through literally hundreds of sources to illuminate a pattern of foreign policy frequently characterized by mistrust, and, more importantly, missed opportunities. This book should not be mistaken for a revisionist historian's attempt to re-write the past with the advantage of hindsight. Further scrutiny will reveal it to be a compelling depiction of world events through the lens of social psychology. World leaders are human and humans make decisions both rational, based on facts and logic, and sometimes irrational, based on schemas and episodic scripts. For those interested in the history and psychology of the decisions that led up to the Cold War, check out this author's earlier work, Origins of Containment