Sam Tanenhaus

Our nemesis is time, against which we have a single ally, memory, and even it betrays us.

That image of a chessboard _ an epic contest between two giant players, carefully nudging their pieces around the globe as part of a grand strategy _ has indeed become a familiar metaphor for the Cold War. But it is misleading. Many decisions remembered today for their farsighted, tactical brilliance were denounced in their day as weak-willed. And big, public gestures often made less difference than the small, hidden ones.