I finished this book a few weeks ago. Phenomenal. I remember the Cold War a little from the Reagan era, but did not have a full grasp of everything which set it into motion. What I ultimately took from the book is that it kind of was a 'hot' war fought by proxy, and rather confront each other directly, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. ended up having to deal with each other the way divorced parents tackle a problem child. Kind of funny in a way, because whenever the two sides did want to get together, another world leader would create some sort of ridiculous commotion. Of course, better it was fought that way than with nukes. (My current book, which is also turning out to be a solid follow-up on the subject is Eric Scholsser's "Command and Control." I believe it was previously discussed on Hubski.)The Cold War: A New History