Red Reckoning: The Cold War and the Transformation of American Life

Though it ended more than thirty years ago, the Cold War still casts a long shadow over American society. Red Reckoning examines how the great ideological conflict of the twentieth century transformed the nation and forced Americans to reconsider almost every aspect of their society, culture, and identity.

Using an interdisciplinary approach, the volume’s contributors examine a broad array of topics, including the Cold War’s impact on national security, race relations, gun culture and masculinity, law, college football, advertising, music, film, free speech, religion, and even board games. Above all, Red Reckoning brings a vitally important era back to life for those who lived through it and for students and scholars wishing to understand it.

Mark Boulton is the Harry S. Truman Fellow and professor of history at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and the author of Failing Our Veterans: The G.I. Bill and the Vietnam Generation.

Tobias T. Gibson is the Dr. John Langton Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.