The Day They Nearly Banned The Bomb

30 years ago today, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev almost agreed to completely get rid of their countries' nuclear weapons in a small room in Reykjavik, Iceland. But one word prevented them from doing so, much to the relief of many of their advisors and Cold War allies. The meeting was initially thought to be a failure but Professor David Reynolds (University of Cambridge and Dr Kristina Spohr (LSE) say it was actually part of a process that helped end the Cold War peacefully. They make this argument in their new book 'Transcending the Cold War: Summits, Statecraft, and the Dissolution of Bipolarity in Europe, 1970-1990.' Cambridge audiences will also be able to meet both of these Historians as part of the Festival of Ideas on the 26th October, at their talk, 'The Day They Nearly Banned The Bomb'

Images courtesy of the Reagan Library