A classic restatement of the hard-line position on the Soviet threat. It might be called vintage Ronald Reagan; more accurately, the views of Reagan (first term, that is) were vintage Kintner, who has been consistent in his views since the beginning of the cold war in the 1940s. Here he lays out the aims and grand strategy of the Soviet leaders from Lenin and Stalin to Gorbachev, clearly set forth in their own public statements, for changing the balance of forces in the world to the advantage and ultimate victory of communism. He then reviews the "operational record" of how Moscow, by force, intimidation, terrorism and other means, has expanded its power, its influence and its empire. Little is said about any limitations. Much of the record is indeed as he describes it, although the account leans toward simplification and overstatement.
