“I was fortunate in being with Margret Thatcher when she met Mikhail Gorbachev in 1984. He did more to end the Cold War than anyone else and it ended without a shot being fired. We need to listen to his wise advice and encourage Vladimir Putin, not just Donald Trump, to act on it. Neither wants war but, as Gorbachev writes, we could end up with it by accident with the world being devastated.” Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary of the United Kingdom
“Mikhail Gorbachev has written this short book to warn us of the grave risks we now face and to urge us all, political leaders and citizens alike, to take action to address them. He argues that self-serving policies and narrow-minded politics aimed at the pursuit of national interests are taking the place of political principles and overshadowing the vision of a free and just world for all peoples. He offers his view of where Russia is heading and he urges political leaders in the West to recognize that re-establishing trust between Russia and the West requires the courage of true leadership and a commitment to genuine dialogue and understanding on both sides. This succinct account of the immense challenges we now face by one of the world’s greatest statesmen will be of interest to everyone concerned about the current state of the world and its future.” George Schultz
The Book:
Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, world peace is at risk again. The President of the United States has withdrawn from the disarmament treaty with Russia, Europe is disintegrating, China is surging forward and a wave of nationalism and populism is destabilizing established political institutions and endangering hard-won liberties.
In view of this dangerous and unpredictable state of affairs, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last great statesman of the 1989 revolution, has written this short book to warn us of the grave risks we now face and to urge us all, political leaders and citizens alike, to take action to address them. He focuses on the big challenges of our time, such as the renewal of the arms race and the growing risks of nuclear war, the new tension between Russia and the West, the global environmental crisis, the rise of populism and the decline of democracy. He argues that self-serving policies and narrow-minded politics aimed at the pursuit of national interests are taking the place of political principles and overshadowing the vision of a free and just world for all peoples. He offers his view of where Russia is heading and he urges political leaders in the West to recognize that re-establishing trust between Russia and the West requires the courage of true leadership and a commitment to genuine dialogue and understanding on both sides.
This succinct account of the immense challenges we now face by one of the world’s greatest statesmen will be of interest to everyone concerned about the current state of the world and its future.
The Author:
Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1985 to 1991 and President of the USSR from 1990 to 1991. He played a pivotal role in bringing an end to the Cold War and he was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 1990. Since then, he has maintained an active role in world affairs through the Gorbachev Foundation, a non-profit organization which promotes democracy and humanitarian initiatives globally.
