Probably the best-grounded study yet done on the Soviet handling of the Czechoslovak affair of 1968 and an excellent case study on Soviet decision-making in general. Valenta brings forward a mass of diverse evidence and uses it skillfully-while recognizing where the gaps are-to show how the issues were seen by the Soviet leadership, what the factions were, and how and when the key decisions were made. The decision for invasion, which came very late (August 17), was the climax of a long internal controversy and search for consensus.