"The untold story of how George H. W. Bush faced a critical turning point of history--the end of the Cold War--based on unprecedented access to heretofore classified documents and dozens of interviews with key policymakers"-- "Based on unprecedented access to previously classified documents and dozens of interviews with key policymakers, here is the untold story of how George H. W. Bush faced a critical turning point of history, the end of the Cold War. The COLLAPSE OF THE Soviet Union was the greatest shock to international affairs since World War II. In that perilous moment, Saddam Hussein chose to invade Kuwait, China cracked down on its own pro-democracy protesters, and regimes throughout Eastern Europe teetered between democratic change and new authoritarian rule. President Bush faced a world in turmoil that might easily have tipped into an epic crisis. As presidential historian Jeffrey Engel reveals in this page-turning, inside-the-Oval-Office history, Bush rose to the occasion brilliantly. Using handwritten letters and direct conversations--some revealed here for the first time--with heads of state throughout Asia and Europe, Bush knew when to push, when to cajole, and when to be patient. The United States could not impose its will on every nation, but Bush knew when it was essential to rally a coalition to force Iraq out of Kuwait. He knew he could not stop China from cracking down on dissent, but he could help Germany transition from two states into one, bloodlessly. He kept NATO alive and guided the United States from a moment of great peril to the pinnacle of global power. Based on previously classified documents, and interviews with all of the principals, When the World Seemed New is a riveting, fly-on-the-wall account of a president with his calm hand on the tiller, guiding the nation through a pivotal time."--Dust jacket flap.