This book is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction 2010. The first full account of how the Cold War arms race finally came to a close, this riveting narrative history sheds new light on the people who struggled to end this era of massive overkill, and examines the legacy of the nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that remain a threat today. Drawing on memoirs, interviews in both Russia and the US, and classified documents from deep inside the Kremlin, David Hoffman examines the inner motives and secret decisions of each side and details the deadly stockpiles that remained unsecured as the Soviet Union collapsed. This is the fascinating story of how Reagan, Gorbachev, and a previously unheralded collection of scientists, soldiers, diplomats, and spies changed the course of history.
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"A stunning feat of research and narrative. Terrifying" --John Le Carré
"This is a tour de force of investigative history." --Steve Coll
"[Hoffman] has compiled a fascinating narrative of the last phase of the cold war and the era of Mikhail Gorbachev, glasnost and perestroika, which ended amid the collapse of the Soviet Union." --Max Hastings Sunday Times 6 Feb 2011
"[The Dead Hand] has important things to say... It is exceptionally well informed. Anyone interested in the Cold War will learn something new from this fascinating, if rather depressing, read." --BBC History Magazine, March 2011
"This is a tour de force of investigative history." --Steve Coll
"[Hoffman] has compiled a fascinating narrative of the last phase of the cold war and the era of Mikhail Gorbachev, glasnost and perestroika, which ended amid the collapse of the Soviet Union." --Max Hastings Sunday Times 6 Feb 2011
"[The Dead Hand] has important things to say... It is exceptionally well informed. Anyone interested in the Cold War will learn something new from this fascinating, if rather depressing, read." --BBC History Magazine, March 2011
About the Author
David Hoffman is a contributing editor at the Washington Post, where he previously served as White House correspondent, Moscow bureau chief, and assistant managing editor for foreign news.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Big Jim
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a remarkable book, ifonly for it's sheer readability, with insights aplenty many gained from those who were there. This could have been a dry and scholarly tome but this is anything but. Even though you know the ending as it were and are no doubt aware of the brinkmanship that went on over the Cuban Missile Crisis etc, there are many new angles explored in this book and some startling new (to me at least)revelations. For example it looks like the world wasn't that far from some sort of germ warfare related nonsense and it was only defections to the West that helped prevent this reaching some sort of disastrous conclusion. I am usually wary of prize winning books, but the Pulitzer prize is rarely, if ever, given to something that doesn't deserve it and I have found many of the books that win the prize for general non-fiction to be very readable as well as informative, "The Prize", "A bright Shining lie" and "Guns germs and steel" for example. This book is a worthy addition to that list.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By Big Jim
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
This is a remarkable book, ifonly for it's sheer readability, with insights aplenty many gained from those who were there. This could have been a dry and scholarly tome but this is anything but. Even though you know the ending as it were and are no doubt aware of the brinkmanship that went on over the Cuban Missile Crisis etc, there are many new angles explored in this book and some startling new (to me at least)revelations. For example it looks like the world wasn't that far from some sort of germ warfare related nonsense and it was only defections to the West that helped prevent this reaching some sort of disastrous conclusion. I am usually wary of prize winning books, but the Pulitzer prize is rarely, if ever, given to something that doesn't deserve it and I have found many of the books that win the prize for general non-fiction to be very readable as well as informative, "The Prize", "A bright Shining lie" and "Guns germs and steel" for example. This book is a worthy addition to that list.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By KatieHW
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As an A-Level History student studying the Cold War, I found I needed more than just textbooks to help me understand the topic, and this book was excellent in helping me to envisage the events that took place at the end of the Cold War. Although not all of book was completely relevant for my course, it was great to have so much background information, and I found it particularly interesting to read such detailed insights into the characters of both Reagan and Gorbachev. Not too difficult to read, exciting to learn, and one of the first history books I've finished without nodding off somewhere in the middle!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, breathtaking and freakily scary
Gripped me from beginning to end! A rip roaring, terrifying, thrilling ride through real life - you couldn't make it up. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Roberto 66
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Excellent, insightful and terrying
This is a large book, but reads much like a much smaller thriller. That's not to say its light on detail or research because it most certainly isn't. Read more
Published 20 days ago by ddan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding.....
Hoffman's "Dead Hand" is a fantastical easy read. I wonderful account of the final decade of the Cold War. A truly enjoyable book. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. D. J. Walford
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Bit Like Hard Work
I am two thirds of the way through this book and although some of the facts are interesting (there has been plenty of research done) and the information divulged sometimes... Read more
Published on 23 May 2011 by m j bailey
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