The uneasy alliance that lay at the heart of the relationship of two of the most powerful and controversial leaders of the late 20th century: Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.

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.