"In Cold War Respite twelve scholars writing from several national perspectives investigate in riveting detail how that event - examined only in passing until now - came about, why its "spirit" was so short-lived, and what its subsequent impact was on the development of the cold war.

Making use of newly declassified archives in the United States, France, Britain, and Russia, the authors provide some of the latest research and insights into early cold-war history as they track the crucial period from Stalin's death in 1953 until the summit. They consider John Foster Dulles's policy at Geneva and the meeting of the four foreign ministers that followed the summit."--BOOK JACKET.