The Cold War : Collapse of Communism

From the end of World War II to the middle of the 1980s, the superpowers fought a diplomatic and political battle for ideological dominance throughout the world. Cold War: Collapse of Communism explores the internal forces, the systemic failures, and the external pressures that brought about the break up of the Soviet Union.

Grade 9 Up-Theories of the origins of the Cold War and its key events are clearly sketched in the opening chapter, followed by an examination of the arms race. Rice explains the development of weapons systems and the agreements to reduce nuclear arsenals as well as the cost of the arms race for both sides. He is on shakier ground in the next three chapters entitled "Communism's Basic Flaw," "Soviet Dissent," and "Glasnost and Perestroika." In this half of the book, he tries to cover too many topics and the result is some oversimplifications and misleading statements. This is especially true in the section on nationalism. In addition, the image of the "Soviet ship of state" is overused and the language describing it is pretentious. On the other hand, the final section, "War Is No Option," is balanced and eloquent. Subtitles in boldface and short highlighted sections on special topics result in an attractive format. The black-and-white photographs are adequate, but a few of the captions are odd or wrong. Starvation was certainly not "the norm for Soviet citizens in the early 1990s" as is stated under the photo of the Gorbachevs. An uneven offering.
Elizabeth Talbot, University of Illinois, Champaign
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 8-12. Avoiding the pat explanations often provided for the Soviet collapse--namely Reagan's saber rattling--Rice charts the complex interweaving of events and forces from World War II through Gorbachev's reforms that brought the U.S.S.R. to social and economic ruin. He names four factors as the prime causes: the arms race, which bankrupted the country; the inability of the socialist economy to tie itself to any real market forces; the role of Soviet dissidents in publicizing human rights abuses; and the paired introduction of glas nost and perestroik. Each of these is treated to its own chapter, sprinkled with well-placed maps, photographs, and sidebars that enhance the content without repeating it. With concise writing, clearly structured arguments, and an array of supporting features, this entry in the History's Great Defeats series is a valuable resource. The thorough footnoting can serve as a model for student research. Appendixes also include a chronology, a glossary, a bibliography. Randy Meyer
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