Former British Ambassador to the Soviet Union and author of the definitive account of the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, Sir Rodric Braithwaite offers here a tour d'horizon of nuclear policy from the end of World War II and start of the Cold War to the present day. Armageddon and Paranoia unfolds the full history of nuclear weapons that began with the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union and now extends worldwide. For decades, an apocalypse seemed imminent, staved off only by the certainty that if one side launched these missiles the other would launch an equally catastrophic counterstrike. This method of avoiding all-out nuclear warfare was called "Deterrence," a policy of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Still, though neither side actively wanted to plunge the world into nuclear wasteland, the possibility of war by misjudgment or mistake meant fears could never be entirely assuaged. Both an exploration of Deterrence and the long history of superpower nuclear policy, Armageddon and Paranoia comes at a time when tensions surrounding nuclear armament have begun mounting once more. No book until this one has offered so comprehensive a history of the topic that has guided--at times dominated--the world in which we live.

Armageddon and Paranoia: The Nuclear Confrontation since 1945

History

Braithwaite, Rodric

Military

Oxford University Press

Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-89

The story of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan is well known: the expansionist Communists overwhelmed a poor country as a means of reaching a warm-water port on the Persian Gulf. Afghan mujahideen upset their plans, holding on with little more than natural fighting skills, until CIA agents came to the rescue with American arms. Humiliated in battle, the Soviets hastily retreated. It is a great story-but it never happened. In this brilliant, myth-busting account, Rodric Braithwaite, the former British ambassador to Moscow, challenges much of what we know about the Soviets in Afghanistan. He provides an inside look at this little-understood episode, using first-hand accounts and piercing analysis to show the war as it was fought and experienced by the Russians. The invasion was a defensive response to a chaotic situation in the Soviets' immediate neighbor. They intended to establish a stable, friendly government, secure the major towns, and train the police and armed forces before making a rapid exit. But the mission escalated, as did casualties. Braithwaite does not paint the occupation as a Russian triumph. To the contrary, he illustrates the searing effect of the brutal conflict on soldiers, their families, and the broader public, as returning veterans struggled to regain their footing back home. Now available in paperback, Braithwaite carries readers through these complex and momentous events, capturing those violent and tragic days as no one has done before.

Asia

Rodric Braithwaite was British ambassador to Moscow during the critical years of Perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the failed coup of August 1991, and the rise of Boris Yeltsin. From the vantage point of the British Embassy (once the mansion of the great nineteenth-century merchant Pavel Kharitonenko) with its commanding views cross the Moscow River to Red Square and the Kremlin, Braithwaite had a ringside seat. With his long experience of Russia and the Russians, who saw him as 'Mrs. Thatcher's Ambassador', on good personal terms with Mikhail Gorbachev, he was in a privileged position close to the centre of Russia's changing relationship with the West. But this is not primarily a memoir. It is an intimate analysis of momentous change and the people who drove it, against the background of Russia's long history and its unique but essentially European culture. Braithwaite watched as Gorbachev and his allies struggled to modernise and democratise a system which had already reached the point of terminal decay. Against the opposition of the generals, they forced the abandonment of the nuclear confrontation as the Soviet Union fell apart. The climax of the drama came in August 1991 when a miscellaneous collection of conservative patriots - generals, politicians and secret policemen - attempted to reverse the course of history and succeeded only in accelerating the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Across the Moscow River: The World Turned Upside Down

Russia

Yale University Press

In this new book, the authors assert that the Trilateral countries—the United States, Canada, Japan, and the nations of the European Union—have made an inadequate and intermittent commitment of policy toward Russia since 1991. They focus on four broad elements of the long agenda for engaging Russia: European "architecture"—they propose greatly intensified NATO-Russia links and they suggest a managing body drawn from OSCE members; nuclear issues—they urge a much larger effort o assist the Russian government in removing nuclear weapons and fissile materials from present and prospective temptation; Northeast Asia—they contend that in contrast to Europe, Russian power is not a central problem in East Asia and the potential gains from engaging Russia in this region are sometimes overlooked; and support for political and economic reform in Russia—given the stakes involved, they argue, the trilateral countries have done too little to support reform in Russia and the other former Soviet republics.Russia may become a more difficult partner in the years ahead. But unless the Kremlin returns decisively to a path hostile to the West, the authors argue, the depth of the Trilateral countries' interests in this great power will call for the inclusive approach they set out.

Engaging Russia: A Report to the Trilateral Commission (Triangle Papers)

Blackwill, Robert D.

Trilateral Commission

Tanaka, Akihiko

Brookings Inst Pr

A brilliantly researched and realized history, an essential addition to the literature of World War II. The 1941 Battle of Moscow—unquestionably one of the most decisive battles of the Second World War—marked the first strategic defeat of the German armed forces in their seemingly unstoppable march across Europe. The Soviets lost many more people in that one battle than the British and Americans lost in the whole of the war. Now, with authority and narrative power, Rodric Braithwaite tells the story in large part through the individual experiences of ordinary Russian men and women. Setting his narrative firmly against the background of Moscow and its people, Braithwaite begins in early 1941, when the Soviet Union was still untouched by the war raging to the west. We see how—despite abundant secret intelligence—the breaching of the border by the Wehrmacht in June took the country by surprise, and how, when the Germans pushed to Moscow in November, the Red Army and the capital’s inhabitants undertook to defend their city. Finally, in the winter of 1941–1942, they turned the Germans back on the very outskirts. Braithwaite’s dramatic, richly illustrated narrative of the military action offers telling portraits of Stalin and his generals. By interweaving the personal remembrances of soldiers, politicians, writers, artists, workers, and schoolchildren, he gives us an unprecedented understanding of how the war affected the daily life of Moscow, and of the extraordinary bravery, endurance, and sacrifice—both voluntary and involuntary—that was required of its citizens.

Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War

KNOPF

In 1941 close to one million Russian soldiers died defending Moscow from German invasion–more causalities than that of the United States and Britain during all of World War II. Many of these soldiers were in fact not soldiers at all, but instead ordinary people who took up arms to defend their city. Students dropped their books for guns; released prisoners exchanged their freedom for battle; and women fought alongside men on the bloody, mud-covered frozen road to Moscow. By the time the United States entered the war the Germans were already retreating and a decisive victory had been won for the Allies. With extensive research into the lives of soldiers, politicians, writers, artists, workers, and children, Rodric Braithwaite creates a richly detailed narrative that captures this crucial moment. Moscow 1941 is a dramatic, unforgettable portrait of an often overlooked battle that changed the world.

Europe

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

The 1941 Battle of Moscow-unquestionably one of the most decisive battles of World War II-marked the first strategic defeat of the German armed forces in their seemingly unstoppable march across Europe. The Soviets lost many more people in this one battle than the British and Americans lost in the whole of the Second World War. Now, with authority and narrative power, Rodric Braithwaite tells the story in large part through the individual experiences of ordinary Russian men and women.The narrative is set firmly against the background of Moscow and its people, beginning in early 1941, when the Soviet Union was still untouched by the war raging to the west.  We see how-despite a mass of secret intelligence-the breaching of the border by the Wehrmacht in June took the country by surprise, and how, when the Germans pushed to Moscow in November, the Red Army and the capital's inhabitants undertook to defend their city, finally, in the winter of 1941–1942, turning the Germans back on the city's very outskirts. Braithwaite's dramatic, richly illustrated narrative of the military action offers telling portraits of Stalin and his generals. By interweaving the personal remembrances of soldiers, politicians, writers, artists, workers, and schoolchildren, he gives us an unprecedented understanding of how the war affected the daily life of Moscow and of the extraordinary bravery, endurance, and sacrifice-both voluntary and involuntary-that was required of its citizens.

Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War, Library Edition

Americas

Tantor Media, Inc.

The 1941 Battle of Moscow-unquestionably one of the most decisive battles of World War II-marked the first strategic defeat of the German armed forces in their seemingly unstoppable march across Europe. The Soviets lost many more people in this one battle than the British and Americans lost in the whole of the Second World War. Now, with authority and narrative power, Rodric Braithwaite tells the story in large part through the individual experiences of ordinary Russian men and women.    The narrative is set firmly against the background of Moscow and its people, beginning in early 1941, when the Soviet Union was still untouched by the war raging to the west.  We see how-despite a mass of secret intelligence-the breaching of the border by the Wehrmacht in June took the country by surprise, and how, when the Germans pushed to Moscow in November, the Red Army and the capital's inhabitants undertook to defend their city, finally, in the winter of 1941–1942, turning the Germans back on the city's very outskirts. Braithwaite's dramatic, richly illustrated narrative of the military action offers telling portraits of Stalin and his generals. By interweaving the personal remembrances of soldiers, politicians, writers, artists, workers, and schoolchildren, he gives us an unprecedented understanding of how the war affected the daily life of Moscow and of the extraordinary bravery, endurance, and sacrifice-both voluntary and involuntary-that was required of its citizens.

Business & Money

An expert historian and former ambassador to Moscow unlocks fact from fiction to reveal what lies at the root of the Russian story. Churchill remarked that Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. That has become an excuse for intellectual laziness. Russia is not all that different from anywhere else. But you have to disentangle the facts&nbsp;from the myths created both by the Russians themselves and by those who dislike them. In this dynamic new history, Rodric Braithwaite--Russia expert and former ambassador to Moscow--does exactly that, unpicking fact from fiction to discover what lies at the root of the Russian story.&nbsp; Russia is the largest country in the world, with the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. Over a thousand years this multifaceted nation of shifting borders has been known as Rus, Muscovy, the Russian Empire, and the Soviet&nbsp;Union. Thirty years ago it was reinvented as the Russian Federation. Like the rest of us, the Russians constantly rewrite their history. They, too, omit episodes of national disgrace in favor of patriotic anecdotes, sometimes more&nbsp;rooted in myth than reality. Russia is not an enigma, but its past is violent, tragic, sometimes glorious, and always complicated.

Russia: Myths and Realities

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Pegasus Books

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Books by Braithwaite, Rodric

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Braithwaite, Rodric. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Armageddon and Paranoia: The Nuclear Confrontation since 1945

Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-89

Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-89

Across the Moscow River: The World Turned Upside Down

Engaging Russia: A Report to the Trilateral Commission (Triangle Papers)

Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War

Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War

Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War, Library Edition

Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War

Russia: Myths and Realities