'Gripping and frankly terrifying' Tom Holland

'The momentum inexorably growing as he assembles each part of the jigsaw. Indeed, Downing's narrative is so persuasive that by the time you are about two-thirds through, it takes some effort to remind yourself that the Third World War never happened' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times

'If you want to understand what brought about the end of the Cold War, read this book. Downing is authoritative, and his writing is vibrant and compelling . . . He brings to the page his skills and insights as a documentary film maker' Scotsman

'Downing's authoritative and well-researched narrative charts the growth of US-Soviet antagonism from Reagan's arrival in office in January 1981 to Able Archer. It deftly takes the reader from the White House to the skies over the Kamchatka peninsula, the streets of Beirut and the corridors of the Kremlin, where anxieties over confrontational US rhetoric were rising in the geriatric leadership of the Communist Party . . . This a remarkable story, which Downing tells in sparkling prose and in a feat of compression that many authors will envy' BBC History

'Downing tells this grim story with pace and flair' Guardian