The Cold War Ends: 1980 to the Present

Children's Literature

While there is no exact date that signifies the end of the Cold War the fact remains that it is over. That reality has completely changed the geopolitical nature of our world. There no longer remains a hostile confrontation of massively armed camps divided by political ideology as was the case during the Cold War. Rather, the world appears more interconnected due to economic globalization and shared resources. Yet, while we cannot pinpoint the actual end of the Cold War a series of events did result in that culmination. In The Cold War Ends Britta Bjornlund outlines the sequence of events that culminated in the closing of this potentially disastrous chapter of human history. Combining an insightful narrative with many period photographs Britta Bjornlund's book stands out as one of the better offerings in the eight-volume "The Cold War" series of which it is a part. Bjornlund counterpoints the tensions between American and Soviet leaders that both spurred and blocked an end to confrontation. Among the more interesting aspects of this fine book is the author's ability to portray the daily life of common folk in the USSR during this tumultuous time period. In the end, the Soviet Union did dissolve and the tensions of the Cold War dissipated. That result seems self-evident to modern youth but, as readers of this insightful book will discover, it was far from a foregone conclusion. 2003, Lucent Books, Romaneck