Archie Brown is Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of the British Academy, and an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of numerous books on the former Soviet Union and its demise, including The Gorbachev Factor (1996, also published by Oxford University Press) and The Rise and Fall of Communism (2009), both of which won both the Alec Nove Prize and the Political Studies Association's W.J.M. Mackenzie Prize for best politics book of the year. A leading authority on Mikhail Gorbachev, he was the first person to draw Margaret Thatcher's attention to Gorbachev (at a 1983 Chequers seminar) as a reform-minded likely future Soviet leader.
Another tour de force from Archie Brown: detailed scholarship, elegant prose and a clear argument. Read this book to find why we should not ignore the human factor underpinning great historical shifts. A fascinating account of how the Cold War ended, explored through the personal interactions between three world leaders - Gorbachev, Reagan and Thatcher. * Bridget Kendall MBE, former BBC Diplomatic Moscow and Washington Correspondent * The book is crammed with information, is well-written, and shows that Brown has a dry sense of humour. * SCRSS Newsletter * ... delivers its promises in spades... What The Human Factor does do and does so well, is provide a fascinating new perspective on already well-trodden ground. * History of War * What The Human Factor does do, and does so well, is provide a fascinating new perspective on already well-trodden ground. * All About History * It is often a challenge for historians to find the right balance between the human factor and the historical forces at play. The value of Archie Brown's study [...] is that it does precisely that. * Christopher Coker, Literary Review * Lucidly written and scholarly. * The Spectator * A masterly survey of the end of the cold war and the roles played in it by Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. * Tony Barber, The Financial Times * A fascinating and instructive read ... Everybody will learn something from this first-class book. * Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times *