For many readers, “summitry” will bring to mind only meetings between leaders of military superpowers, especially those of U.S. presidents with Soviet and Russian leaders. It is reasonable, however, to apply the term, as James Cooper does in this book, to meetings of heads of government, especially when they are leaders of consequence.
There is no doubting the significance of the relationship between Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Reagan himself on several occasions described her as a “soulmate,” and those who served in senior positions in his administration noted that she was the foreign leader with whom he felt the closest affinity. Reagan's successor, George H. W. Bush, believed that Thatcher had gained excessive influence over Reagan. Interviewed for the authorized biography of Thatcher, he said that Reagan “was just smitten by her.” Thatcher was aware that the discrepancy in power between the United States and Great Britain meant that...