Richard Aldous was the Head of History and Archives at University College, Dublin for 15 years. His many books include a critically acclaimed biography of Gladstone and Disraeli, and the no. 1 bestselling Great Irish Speeches. He writes for publications including the New York Times and Irish Times, and is a regular contributor to television and radio on both sides of the Atlantic. He is currently the Eugene Meyer Professor of British History and Literature at Bard College in New York.

For three decades, historians have cited the long-term alliance of Reagan and Thatcher as an example of the special bond between the US and Britain.

But, as Richard Aldous argues, these political titans clashed repeatedly as they confronted the greatest threat of their time: the USSR.

Brilliantly reconstructing some of their most dramatic encounters, Aldous draws on recently declassified documents and extensive oral history to dismantle the popular conception of the Reagan-Thatcher diplomacy.