Neither Cold War Nor Détente? Soviet-American Relations in the 1980s

Solid, thoughtful essays by well-known international affairs scholars. The prevailing though not exclusive message is one of prudence: the United States should eschew apocalyptic confrontation in favor of "a policy of containment similar to George Kennan's prescriptions for strengthening the economic and political fiber of societies, in contrast to a reliance primarily on a military balance of power." Allen Whiting's essay warning against the simplistic concept of a Sino-Soviet-American triangle is especially good.