From Cold War to hot peace - Michael McFaul

'A fascinating and timely account of the current crisis in the relationship
between Russia and the United States' Daniel Beer, The New York Times

'Could not be more timely ... crucial reading for anyone interested in what's happening inside Putin's head' Oliver Bullough, Prospect

A revelatory, behind-the-scenes account of Russian-American
relations, from a former US ambassador and 'Obama's top White House
advisor on Russia policy' (The New York Times)

In
2008, when Michael McFaul was asked to leave his perch at Stanford and
join President-elect Barack Obama's national security team, he had no
idea that he would find himself at the beating heart of one of today's
most contentious international relationships. McFaul had been studying
and visiting Russia for decades, becoming one of America's preeminent
scholars on the country during the first Putin era.

During
President Obama's first term, McFaul helped craft the policy known as
"Reset," which fostered unprecedented collaboration between the two
countries under Dmitry Medvedev's presidency. Later, as U.S. ambassador
from 2012 to 2014, he witnessed firsthand how Vladimir Putin's new
rise
interrupted this era of cooperation and returned Russian-American
relations to a level of hostility not known since the darkest days of
the Cold War. From the outset of his ambassadorship, the Kremlin
accused
McFaul of being sent by Obama to foment revolution against
Putin's
regime.

This resulting insider's account - uniquely
combining
history, politics and intimate personal knowledge of the
corridors of
power - takes us from Putin's dacha to ornate Kremlin
chambers and the
Oval Office, to explain how Russia really works, and
why the world has
entered a dangerous new era of confrontation.