President Ronald Reagan readied himself for the historic meeting to discuss ending the Cold War with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1986 by reading Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising," according to a recently released memo from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's office.
The memo was reported early Wednesday morning local time by the
U.K.'s Independent.
Reagan called Thatcher on the telephone just before the meeting.
"The President strongly commended to the Prime Minister a new book by the author of 'Red October’'called (I think) 'Red Storm Rising'. It gave an excellent picture of the Soviet Union’s intentions and strategy. He had clearly been much impressed by the book," read the memo written by Thatcher's personal secretary and foreign policy adviser.
In the end, the meeting in Reykjavik failed, but marked the beginning of talks that would lead to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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