Includes bibliographical references (p. [351]-379) and index.

Two anti-communists. Clandestine visit -- "It's time to stroke Ronnie" -- Two schools of thought -- Evil empire -- Nixon detects Gorbachev's "steel fist" -- Abolition -- Conservative uproar -- The conversation -- Reversal of roles -- Informal adviser. A new friend -- Banned from the land of the firebird -- War scare -- Improbable emissary -- Hunger for religion -- An arrest and its consequences -- Keep her away -- Carlucci's notes -- Berlin. The speech -- Twenty-fifth anniversary -- Day visit of a presidential candidate -- "He blew it" -- Anti-Soviet jokes -- The orator and his writers -- One night free in West Berlin -- Competing drafts -- Warsaw pact -- "I think we'll leave it in" -- Rock concert -- Venetian villa -- Brandenburg Gate -- Why not "Mr. Honecker"? -- On his own -- Summits. "Quit pressing" -- An arms deal and its opponents -- Shultz's pitch -- The grand tour rejected -- Of Dan Quayle and Errol Flynn -- Gorbachev in Washington -- Making a treaty look easy -- The not-so-evil empire -- Bush v. Reagan -- The wall will stand for "100 years."

Drawing on new interviews and previously unavailable documents, Mann finally answers the troubling questions about Reagan's actual role in the crumbling of Soviet power; and concludes that by recognizing the significance of Gorbachev, Reagan helped bring the Cold War to a close.