Cold War - Hardcover

Warren, Mr. James A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688105963 ISBN 13: 9780688105969

Publisher: Collins, 1996

Synopsis

For almost fifty years after World War II, the antagonism caused by two rival ideologies -- democracy and communism -- dominated international politics. Although by no means the only nations involved in this long conflict we call the call war, the democratic United States and the Communist Soviet Union were always at its center. These superpowers vied to surpass each other at controlling international affairs, stockpiling nuclear weapons, racing for the moon, and even at world chess and Olympic competitions. When the Soviet Union offically disbanded on Christmas day, 1991, forty-six years of open hostility between East and West finally came to an end. The cold war was over, but its effects remain.

What led the United States into such bitter rivalry with the USSR? What fed America's paranoia about communism? How did this obsessive fear come to dictate U.S. policy at home and abroad? In Cold War: The American Crusade Against Communism 1945-1991, James A. Warren examines these and other important questions. The first comprehensive study of the cold war published for yound adults since the dissolutions of the Soviet Union, Cold War takes a thoughtful look at where America has been and where we might be headed.

About this title

About the Author

James A. Warren was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended the Moses Brown School and graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. For many years, he worked as an editor of adult and young adult nonfiction books at Facts on File. He is widely respected for his expertise in modern warefare and is a contributor to Military History Quarterly. His young adult book Portrait of a Tragedy: American and the Vietnam War was named an ALA Booklist Editors' Choice for 1990 and a Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. Mr. Warren is currently Executive Editor for Columbia University Press. He lives in New York City.

From Kirkus Reviews

The Cold War was America's longest war, lasting almost 50 years. In this thought-provoking ``survey history of an American crusade,'' Warren (Portrait of a Tragedy: America and the Vietnam War, 1990, etc.) outlines the struggle between democracy and Communism and describes the key events, themes, and decision makers. In contrast with American leaders after WW II, who felt that the Cold War was a moral crusade in which the United States was ``good'' and the Soviet Union ``evil,'' Warren adopts a more neutral presentation: ``I came to admire the restraint and discipline on both sides. The Cold War could very easily have ended in nuclear holocaust.'' In addition, Warren's writing is clear and concise--his explanations of terms (isolationism, containment, d‚tente, realpolitik, glasnost, perestroika) will be understandable to YAs. Although Warren concludes that the Communist system ``simply did not provide a satisfactory way of life'' nor did it ``demonstrate any real capacity to address social and economic problems as they arose,'' in which ``capitalistic democracies proved to be surprisingly adept,'' he believes that ``the obsession with communism often blinded the United States to the realities and problems faced by other countries.'' This deftly written history of the Cold War should be included in all collections of books dealing with this period of time. (index, not seen, table of contents, chronology, further reading, notes, appendix) (Nonfiction. 10+) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Collins
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0688105963
• ISBN 13: 9780688105969
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288