Between 1968 and 1975, there was a subtle thawing of relations between East and West, for which Brezhnev coined the name Detente, and - perhaps - a chance to end the Cold War. The leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union, Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev, hoped to forge a new relationship between East and West. Yet, the greatest changes of the era took place outside the sphere of international diplomacy. The 1960s brought social collision across the world, from the anti-war protests in America to the student demonstrations on the streets of Paris, and Mao Zedong's Red Guards in China. A new generation, whom advertising executives dubbed the baby-boomers, brought new attitudes to towards sex, gender, race, the environment and religion. In this book, Richard Crowder explores the years of Detente, and introduces us to the key players of the era, whose stories form the narrative of this book.

An accessible but authoritative history of the Cold War from 1968 to 1975, when tensions eased between the Soviet Union and the United States.

About the Author
Richard Crowder is a UK diplomat and has worked for the Foreign Office since 1996 in a range of roles at home and overseas, most recently serving as the Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan. Richard is also as an independent historian and studied Classics at the University of Oxford, and Public Administration at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. His previous book, Aftermath: The Makers of the Postwar World, was published by I.B. Tauris in 2015.

Reviews
A sweeping and evocative account of the Cold War's thaw... It's fast-moving, engaging and authoritative in equal measure. 5 stars. * All About History *
Richard Crowder's broad-ranging account of 'detente', the comparative relaxation of Cold War tension which lasted from the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 to the American withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975, shows in colourful, lively and meticulous detail how Nixon and Brezhnev constructed fragile barriers against mutual annihilation, even while one was coping with a violently divided America and the other with an increasingly dysfunctional Soviet Union. * Rodric Braithwaite *
Richard Crowder has managed to write about these turbulent years in vivid detail in a way that combines serious research and readability. * Richard Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth *
Richard Crowder possesses a rich array of gifts which carry his fascinating story with zest and insight-a mix of his sense of moment, character and context all enhanced by his insider's feel for diplomacy and statecraft. Roll on volume three of this fascinating cold war narrative. * Peter Hennessy, Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield *



Book Information
ISBN 9781350147942
Author Richard Crowder
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd.
Publisher Bloomsbury Academic
Weight(grams) 590g