We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History (Council on Foreign Relations Book) - Hardcover

Gaddis, John Lewis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198780702 ISBN 13: 9780198780700

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1997

Synopsis

"A masterly review of the early pahses of the conflict between the United States, Russia, China and their respective allies from 1946 to the Cuban missle crisis in the autumn of 1962. It is clear, thorough and judicious; in short, magnificent."--The Economist "...Gaddis has done a thorough job of collating material from these diverse sources...and constructing a trenchant analysis that puts these fascinating tidbits into context."--San Francisco Chronicle & Examiner Based on the latest findings of Cold War historians and extensive research in American archives as well as the recently opened archives in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and China, We Now Know provides a vividly written, eye-opening account of the Cold War during the years from the end of World War II to the Cuban missile crisis. The book brims with new information drawn from previously unavailable sources, with fresh insight into the impact of ideology, economics, and nuclear weapons, and with striking reinterpretations of the roles of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Khrushchev, Mao, and Stalin. Indeed, Gaddis concludes that if there was one factor that made the Cold War unavoidable it was Stalin.

About this title

Review

Was the Cold War inevitable? Was there an international communist conspiracy? Did Castro and Khrushchev beat Kennedy in the Cuban missile crisis? After combing through a mass of declassified and previously unavailable documentation to reconsider the collision of the American and Soviet empires, Yale professor Gaddis replies in the affirmative. Given Josef Stalin's convictions, the Cold War was inescapable: it is the choices that each side made that prove fruitful for historical research, and not the mere fact of the war, as Gaddis neatly demonstrates. The American empire--Gaddis's term--prevailed because, he says, "democracy proved superior to autocracy in maintaining coalitions," and not necessarily because of any technological or economic advantage. Gaddis dispels several misconceptions and urges that students of Cold War history should foremost "retain the capacity to be surprised."

About the Author

About the Author:
John Lewis Gaddis will become Robert Lovett Professor of History at Yale University in the Autumn of 1997. He has been Distinguished Professor of History at Ohio University, where he founded the Contemporary History Institute.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0198780702
• ISBN 13: 9780198780700
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 436