It was waged on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited recourse to weapons. Even after it ended with the fall of the soviet union, books on the cold war are plenteous and it continues to be a subject of great interest for numerous authors. Although the cold war had many negative influences on global society, t here were many positive outcomes of the cold war. A new history by john lewis gaddis, command and control. Life in the the soviet union during the cold war was very different from life in the us. This revised and updated edition of the classic cold war novel team yankee reminds us once again might have occurred had the united states and its allies taken on the russians in europe, had cooler geopolitical heads not prevailed. President ronald reagan revived cold war policies and rhetoric, referring to the soviet union as the evil empire and escalating the nuclear arms race. Jan 07, 2020 andrew bacevichs latest book poses penetrating questions that transcend its title. Overall this seems to be well researched and written and you dont need to know about chess to enjoy this book. The best part of the book is not an incisive overview of the cold war with attention to its major confrontations. Advising the householder on protection against nuclear. The cold war spies played an important role in espionage and covert operations. This book is a very ambitious attempt to produce a one volume overview of the cold war and contains a good deal of fine narrative and analysis but suffers from some structural defects. The butter battle book is a pretty clear allegory for the cold war arms race.
The canadian government forcibly relocated inuit to the most northern parts of the country during the cold war in order to assert its sovereignty in the arctic. Cold war spooks offers a rare glimpse into clandestine intelligencegathering as sonny powell becomes trapped in an american submarine, in russian waters. Her book the chimera affair has been highly recommended to meand i probably should have started there. For those of us who grew up during the cold war it was an unforgettable. The book should cover the end of world war ii to the fall of the ussr. This site is created by alpha history and contains 308,881 words in 405 pages. Jun 21, 2005 and there, as in vietnam, america will need to recognize that it is not fighting terrorism but nationalism, a battle that cannot be won by occupation. The cold war is revisited twenty years after its ending, with the use of new archives and memories of its contemporaries.
If youre looking for a good introduction to the cold war. This graphic novel by the artist best loved for the snowman might look as if it. Theres some strong moments of excitement, for example in the beginning when one of the characters. Both superpowers engaged in a variety of contests against each other, including military brinkmanship and proxy wars in smaller countries to spread their ideologies. The book cold war was fairly entertaining and a quick read.
America, the cold war, and the roots of terror, published by pantheon books, about the way muslims around the world have been. Gaddis cold war more than fulfills that basic requirement of all good books. These brilliant books about the cold war offer not just an insight into life behind the iron curtain but. Cold war, the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after world war ii between the united states and the soviet union and their respective allies.
Jan 20, 2016 top 10 books about the cold war the long, nucleararmed standoff that followed the second world war was a terrifying parody of peace which inspired some brilliant literature francesca kay. It makes the cold war unique by showing how one side helped out their enemy. Bush and soviet president mikhail gorbachev declared the official end of the cold war at the malta summit in 1989. The cold war questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on the cold war. I think his dad worked in the kremlin during the cold war so there are lots of insights in the book that others authors arent necessarily privy to. The cold war is a term that encompasses the long postww2 struggle between communist ussr.
Ten histories of the cold war worth reading council on. I am motivated to ask this question because i am looking for such a book. As conservatism revived in the west with the election margaret thatcher and ronald reagan, both outspoken anticommunists who spoke of the soviet union as an evil empire, pop culture. A good read, about a landmark match and intriguing protagonists. Top 10 books about the cold war the long, nucleararmed standoff that followed the second world war was a terrifying parody of peace which inspired some brilliant literature francesca kay. During the cold war the cias premier agent in the soviet union was a highlevel intelligence officer named oleg penkovsky. The canadian government forcibly relocated inuit to the most northern parts of the country during the cold war in.
But for my money the spy who came in the from the cold remains his best. The main enemies were the united states and the soviet union. Perhaps not the best read for advanced study, but a good introductory text. She connects the cold war and anticommunism to the oppression of women. For two years in the early 1960s he supplied the cia with highly classified information on soviet rocket strength and strat. The cold war was a period of geopolitical tension between the soviet union and the united states and their respective allies, the eastern bloc and the western bloc, after world war ii. This is a quick read for anyone working in or interested in the ongoing challenges with building a stable government in a country that has arguably been at war for. Gorbachevs adaptability, reagans engagement, and the end of the cold war by james graham wilson goodreads author 2. The cold war was a geopolitical chess match between the united states, the soviet union, and both parties allies in which the major power players sought to project their respective ideologies across the globe in the wake of colonialisms collapse following world war two. Benn steils recent work on the marshall plan is a refreshing new take on the advent of the cold war. In this brilliant look at the rise of political islam, the distinguished political scientist and anthropologist mahmood mamdani brings his expertise and insight to. Hi everyone, i have a hard time finding a good book describing the cold war, and what we know of it.
Gaddis has revised and extended some of his analysis as a result, in books such as we now know. Learn more about the cold war with these novels dedicated to the time when the. List of the best books about the cold war, including jacket cover images when available, voted on by fans of the cold war nonfiction genre. The cold war was a conflict between the united states and the soviet union that partly manifested itself as a race to conquer space. The term cold is used because there was no largescale fighting directly between the two. The cold war was a period of heightened military and political tensions between the united states and its allies on one side and the soviet union and its allies on the other. While studying at cambridge university in the 1930s, guy burgess, donald maclean, kim philby, john cairncross and anthony blunt were. During the cold war, america used bears to test their ejector seats in supersonic jets. Mahmood mamdani talked about his book good muslim, bad muslim. Features a section on what the war cost, memories from the cold war, and an excerpt from the book after the cold war.
A new history by john lewis gaddis revolution 1989. More importantly though, the analysis is simply brilliant. It is a snap shot of a particular place in time, when cold war sensibilities were high and national pride was at stake. Top 10 books about the cold war books the guardian. It is the definitive history of the us civil war it gives equal treatment to both sides, and is more than one million words, but is never boring. The period occurred between 1947, the year of the truman doctrine. The second deadliest war during the cold war was the korean war 195053, with over 3 million people killed. This book strikes me as a good idea for a book rather than a completed piece of fiction. Posted on october 19, 2015 by charles davis was the cold war between the united states and the soviet union, and the many hot proxy wars it spawned in asia and the americas, a good thing for mothers and their children and other living things. Under stalin, the state had total control over all media, and anyone caught reading, watching, or listening to any not permitted by the government was severely punished.
How america squandered its cold war victory metropolitan books, 256 pp. Le carre wrote several other superb spy thrillers set in the cold war, including the wonderful tinker, tailor, soldier, spy. As the world prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall, we present 10 essential cold war classics. The theme of the cold war it pulls into was a limited war because there wasnt any fighting like a classic war. The implementation of the american marshall plan and the communist molotov plan, the nuclear arms race, the. The spy who came in from the cold by john le carre, the. Spies gathered information in many ways, including including intercepting communications, stealing documents, setting up bugs listening devices or other means of surveillance, sabotage operations, paying informers and using doubleagents. Orwell understood it as a nuclear stalemate between superstates. New books about the cold war twentyfive years after the fall of the soviet union, new books explore what we have yet to learn from the cold war. Looking for books that take a broad perspective on a major topic the civil war or cold war, e. Its straightforward westgood eastbad stuff, but a more nuanced book might not have found room for everybodys favourite personification of russian.
Chapters 1 through 4 present the evidence, and the concluding chapter tightens up the presentation of the evidence while synthesizing the facts with a. This epic threevolume masterpiece is to war what gibbons decline and fall of the roman empire was to history. Over the issue of how the yooks and zooks butter their bread. After all, it was the dawning of the nuclear age that brought the possibility of imminent catastrophe to the forefront of the public consciousness, a time when total atomic annihilation seemed never more than a buttonpush away. Odd arne westad is the author of an outstanding book, the global cold war, on the cold war, as well as other work on this important topic. This hostility between the two superpowers was first given its name by george orwell in an article published in 1945. In many ways, the cold war began even before the guns fell silent in germany and in the pacific in 1945. Cold war international history project the cold war international history project features new evidence from central and eastern european archives of the cold war in asia. Good muslim, bad muslim is a provocative and important book that will profoundly change our understanding both of islamist politics and the way america is perceived in the world today. I dont know much about the war, but after having watched bridge of spies, i want to. The implementation of the american marshall plan and the communist molotov plan, the nuclear arms race, the space race, and the global military buildup all. The period is generally considered to span the 1947 truman doctrine to the 1991 dissolution of the soviet union.
Books about nuclear war are, to many people, the founding cornerstones of post apocalyptic fiction. It also offers a cdrom on bulgaria and the cold war. The cold war got its name because both sides were afraid of fighting each other directly. Cold war themed films in the 70s verged on camp and parody, examples being the forgotten sutherlandgould vehicle spys or the bond films with roger moore. The protatgonists in the cold war were the west, led by the united states, and the eastern bloc, led by the soviet union. Competing ideologies and visions of the postwar world prevented u. Ten cold war novels worth reading council on foreign relations. Dec 31, 2018 while the book is a bit dated, and the prescribed ten commandments for good governance are more aspirational than practical, i found it useful to revisit the book on my way to kabul. On the 20th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall, the daily beast sorts through the best new and old books on the cold war and the fall of communism. The author never dwells on trifles, the book never gets dull, and you are more likely than not to be left wanting more when you finish it. Im looking for a good history of the cold war, particularly from a nonleftist perspective. Gaddis objectively analyses the events of the war as well as the reasons for such a turn of events. This cold war site contains articles, perspectives and sources on global events and tensions between 1945 and 1991.
Jul 03, 2014 1115 interesting facts about cold war. So in that spirit, here are my ten favorite englishlanguage cold war novelsplus my favorite cold war play as a bonus pick. In the cultural cold war, frances stonor saunders reveals the extraordinary efforts of a secret campaign in which some of the most vocal exponents of intellectual freedom in the west were working for or subsidized by. It expressed how much the us wanted countries to go to the capitalist side.
The cold war is the term used to define the period between the end of world war ii in 1945 and the ultimate collapse of the soviet union and its satellite states in 1991. Aug 16, 2016 cold war themed films in the 70s verged on camp and parody, examples being the forgotten sutherlandgould vehicle spys or the bond films with roger moore. Any of le carres cold war novels could have made the cut. Free shipping get free shipping free 58 day shipping within the u. This golden age of post apocalyptic fiction birthed and inspired. Its straightforward west good eastbad stuff, but a more nuanced book might not have found room for everybodys favourite personification of russian. By the time world war ii ended, most american officials agreed that the best defense against the soviet threat was a strategy called containment. The 25 best movies about the cold war taste of cinema. Or if it is, were reading way too much into it more likely, dr. A scholar trying to make sense the political climate of the post911 world might be wellserved by a book covering the decades of the cold war that set the tenor for international relations in the current era. Soviet relations for decades and resurfaced as soon as the alliance against adolf hitler was no longer necessary. Seusss tale is an allegory for the nuclear arms race during world war ii and the. The crushing of eastern europe, 19441956 by anne applebaum one minute to midnight. Ten histories of the cold war worth reading council on foreign.
The soviet union launched the first satellite into orbit in 1957, while twelve years later the united states put the first humans on the moon. List of books and articles about arms race online research. Score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. A collection of books about the cold war for young adult readers. Sep 21, 2011 the cold war began after world war two. Ten cold war novels worth reading council on foreign. T he world economic situation was subsequently greatly improved by the military buildup caused by the cold war. The cold war was an ongoing political rivalry between the united states and the soviet union and their respective allies that developed after world war ii. List of books and articles about cold war online research. During the cold war, freedom of expression was vaunted as liberal democracys most cherished possessionbut such freedom was put in service of a hidden agenda.
No ones better or even as good as at cold war spy thrillers than le carre. The butter battle book symbolism, imagery, allegory. The obvious difference was communism, which took away freedoms from everyday people. One day miss ailsa brimley, editor of a small english newspaper, receives plea for help and advice from a subscriber which intimates that the letter writers husband may be about to kill her.
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