The Master of the Game (Magill Book Reviews)

At a glance:

The signing of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in December, 1987, was the result of seven years of negotiation between the United States and the Soviet Union. A central role in those negotiations was played by Paul Nitze, whom President Ronald Reagan appointed to what was perceived as the thankless task of being an arms-control negotiator for an administration that believed in a strong defense. Furthermore, INF was seen as taking a secondary role to the strategic arms reduction talks, START, the successor to the arms-control legacy that began with the signing of SALT I in 1972 under President Richard Nixon. Despite all this, Nitze approached his task with the same level of commitment and intensity with which he seemed to approach every task he had been given by every president under whom he had served, beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Ultimately, in large measure because of Nitze, an agreement was signed and ratified.

THE MASTER OF THE GAME is a fascinating and extremely readable study of one of the architects of American strategic and arms-control policy. It gives rare insight into both the processes involved in the securing of any agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union and into one of the senior diplomats of the United States. Written by Strobe Talbott, who has already produced important books on both SALTII and the START/INF process, this book should be required reading for any student of arms control or for any individual who is interested in acquiring more knowledge of how such policy decisions are really made.

Sources for Further Study

Booklist. LXXXV, October 15, 1988, p. 100.

Boston Globe. October 16, 1988, p. 106.

Chicago Tribune. November 6, 1988, XIV, p. 3.

Kirkus Reviews. LVI, September 15, 1988, p. 1394.

Los Angeles Times Book Review. October 23, 1988, p. 2.

The New York Review of Books. XXXV, January 19, 1989, p. 21.

The New York Times Book Review. XCIII, November 6, 1988, p. 1.

The New Yorker. LXIV, December 5, 1988, p. 157.

Time. CXXXII, October 31, 1988, p. 88.

The Washington Post Book World. XVIII, October 23, 1988, p. 5.