PETER VINCENT PRY, formerly with the CIA, is currently a professional military advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives on national security issues./e In an award honoring his years of service, the CIA stated: A noted expert in his field, Dr. Pry conducted groundbreaking research that illuminated one of the most important issues of our time, the U.S.-Soviet nuclear competition. On the vanguard of strategic intelligence analysis during the Cold War, he developed much of what the U.S. government knows about Soviet planning for nuclear war, including Soviet views of the character of war, perceptions of U.S. intentions, assessment of the nuclear balance, and operational plans. In the post-Cold War period, his work has been central to the U.S. government's understanding of evolving Russian threat perceptions and military doctrine, and the construction of new paradigms for strategic warning and stability assessments. He lives in Annandale, Virginia.
Pry's accounts of five war scares since 1983 and his review of the profound internal crisis in Russia are not for the faint of heart....His book reminds us that Russia's nuclear force poses a genuine threat to U.S. national security far into the 21st century....A valuable book. -Library Journal ?Pry's accounts of five war scares since 1983 and his review of the profound internal crisis in Russia are not for the faint of heart....His book reminds us that Russia's nuclear force poses a genuine threat to U.S. national security far into the 21st century....A valuable book.?-Library Journal ?A cogent and informed assessment of how close the West came to nuclear war with the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and how, contrary to general belief the danger persists....[Pry's] insight into the minds of the Russian General Staff and his concerns about Western misunderstanding of it are important and salutary.?-Kirkus Reviews ?Pry...presents a hair-raising picture of the Soviet Union and of today's Russian Republic, where, since the 1980s, policies toward the U.S. have been shaped by the fear of a surprise nuclear attack....His conclusion [is] that current U.S. approaches to Russia are based more on hope than reality.?-Publishers Weekly Pry...presents a hair-raising picture of the Soviet Union and of today's Russian Republic, where, since the 1980s, policies toward the U.S. have been shaped by the fear of a surprise nuclear attack....His conclusion [is] that current U.S. approaches to Russia are based more on hope than reality. -Publishers Weekly A cogent and informed assessment of how close the West came to nuclear war with the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and how, contrary to general belief the danger persists....[Pry's] insight into the minds of the Russian General Staff and his concerns about Western misunderstanding of it are important and salutary. -Kirkus Reviews