Photos

Working on this book was a six year journey. From my research on national archives at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA to the publication of the English version of the book, many things happened. Here is my journey with Reagan, Gorbachev and many more in 24 pictures.

Bust of Ronald Reagan at his presidential library. I started my research there in 2014.
Among the hundred of pages studied, many were classified Top Secret for decades. I also worked on Soviet archives translated into English.
Titan II U.S. nuclear missile in its silo, at the Titan missile museum in Sahuarita, AZ. A great opening for the book.
Control room from the 1980’s at the Titan missile museum in Sahuarita, AZ.
Sometimes, posting the work in progress on a wall is helpful. Here, each sheet of paper represent tentatively a single chapter.
Visit to Moscow (Russia) in the Spring 2015. I stayed there three days to meet with Mikhail Gorbachev.
Brejnev, Castro and other communist leaders are represented on this painting in a museum in Moscow.
I had the privilege to meet with Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, at his foundation offices in Moscow.
Our conversation was translated by his official interpreter and assistant, Pavel Palazchenko. He was also the interpreter in all the US-Soviet summits.
M. Gorbachev was very straightforward. He later agreed to write an exclusive introduction for my the English version of the book.
Back to the United States, I had a letter exchange with former president Jimmy Carter to clarify one of his statements.
Before finishing the writing phase, I flew to Hiroshima, Japan, in May 2016. Barack Obama was the first US sitting president to visit the site of the first atomic bomb. Here at the ceremony with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Yorie and Toshiharu Kano are survivors of the bomb, whom I interviewed for the ending of the book. We were invited to attend the ceremony by the White House.
October 2016: Finally, the French version of the book is out, for the 30th anniversary of the Reykjavik Summit.
First stop in New York to promote the book, in February 2017. Here at the Albertine Bookstore for a talk with David Andelman, who will later translate my book into English. This conversation was recorded and aired on C-SPAN.
Next stop at the Alliance Française of Washington D.C.
A note from then Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who appreciated the book.
Promoting the book in Paris at an event with former Secretary of Defense Paul Quilès. After the 1980’s, he activated for the elimination of nuclear weapons and was a great support of the book.
June 2016: The English version of the book, with a translation by David Andelman, is finally out with Pegasus Books. The book was also released in the U.K. with Biteback Publishing.
Book launch event in the Los Angeles area at Vroman’s, the oldest bookstore of Southern California.
That evening in Pasadena, I was interviewed by NPR local station KPCC reporter Libby Denkmann.
Later that year, a received news from Reykjavik. The mayor of the city, Dagur Eggertsson, signed and offered my book to…
…Mike Pence, then Vice-President of the United States, who was visiting Iceland. Here he is with the mayor.
This was an extraordinary journey. Thanks for reading.